MR-anatomy of infants hip: comparison to anatomical preparations.

The correlation between anatomical preparations and MRI images of the most important structures of newborn hips in coronal and axial orientation was performed in 18 post mortem babies. T1-weighted images present a good differentiation between cartilage, bone, ligaments and surrounding soft tissues. Coronal images give the best opportunity to study the clinically important structures of the roof of acetabulum including the labrum and the ground of the acetabulum. The latter is shown in a more detailed way by MRI than by sonography. Axial images allow additional examinations of the ventral and dorsal parts of the joint. By using both coronal and axial images the exact determination of the centering of the femur head in the hip joint is possible.