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Citation:
Knipe H, Jones J, Hacking C, Subchondral bone plate. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 11 Mar 2025) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-63298
The subchondral bone plate is composed of two layers that separate articular cartilage from the marrow-containing cancellous bone. The superficial layer consists of calcified cartilage, which is separated by the cement line (tidemark) from the deep layer of compact cortical bone 1-3.
Radiographic features
Subchondral bone plate appears as one structure on MRI in routine clinical use, i.e. the calcified cartilage layer cannot be separate from subchondral bone 1.
Chemical shift artifact can result in artifactual thickening of the subchondral bone plate 1.
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1. Gorbachova T, Melenevsky Y, Cohen M, Cerniglia B. Osteochondral Lesions of the Knee: Differentiating the Most Common Entities at MRI. Radiographics. 2018;38(5):1478-95. doi:10.1148/rg.2018180044 [Pubmed]
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2. James H. Calandruccio, Benjamin J. Grear, Benjamin M. Mauck et al. Sports-Related Injuries, An Issue of Orthopedic Clinics. (2016) ISBN: 9780323463218
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3. Clark J & Huber J. The Structure of the Human Subchondral Plate. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 1990;72(5):866-73. doi:10.1302/0301-620X.72B5.2211774 [Pubmed]
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