Parrot beak meniscal tear
Last revised by Dr David Luong ◉ on 14 Feb 2022
Citation, DOI & article data
Citation:
Weerakkody, Y., Luong, D. Parrot beak meniscal tear. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org. (accessed on 06 Jul 2022) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-39386
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rID:
39386
Article created:
02 Sep 2015 by Dr Yuranga Weerakkody ◉
Revisions:
14 times by 5 users - see full revision history
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Synonyms:
- Parrot beak tears
- Oblique flap tear with a horizontal component
- Parrot beak meniscal tears
- Parrot beak tear of meniscus
Parrot beak meniscal tear is a type of radial meniscal tear with a more oblique course, which on axial images gives the characteristic appearance of a curved V, similar to a parrot's beak. As it is obliquely oriented in relation to the coronal and sagittal plane, it results in a marching cleft sign on sagittal images. This type of tear is usually symptomatic, as the partially torn meniscal flap is unstable.
Practical points
Some authors advise that the term should be reserved for arthroscopy reports, and not used in MRI reports as a meniscal tear pattern descriptor 1.
References
- 1. De Smet AA. How I diagnose meniscal tears on knee MRI. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2012;199 (3): 481-99. doi:10.2214/AJR.12.8663 - Pubmed citation
- 2. Nguyen JC, De Smet AA, Graf BK et-al. MR imaging-based diagnosis and classification of meniscal tears. Radiographics. 2014;34 (4): 981-99. doi:10.1148/rg.344125202 - Pubmed citation
- 3. Saad SS, Gorbachova T, Saing M. Meniscal Tears: Scanned, Scoped, and Sculpted: Resident and Fellow Education Feature. Radiographics. 2015;35 (4): 1138-9. doi:10.1148/rg.2015140173 - Pubmed citation
- 4. Shah AJ, Patel HT, Patel DV, Patel J, Saxena S MR imaging of meniscal tear: Pearls and pitfalls. doi:10.26044/ecr2019/C-1417
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