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Posterior Knee

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Manual of Musculoskeletal Ultrasound

Abstract

The posterior knee is an area with readily apparent sonographic pathology. The popliteal cyst, commonly known as a Baker’s cyst, is an enlargement of the normal bursa present at the posteromedial aspect of the knee. Dynamic maneuvers may verify if the popliteal cyst communicates with the joint. A Baker’s cyst may develop due to various underlying conditions elucidated by ultrasound (US), enabling immediate treatment decisions. If necessary, ultrasound accurately guides needle aspiration or injection. Vascular abnormalities such as venous thrombosis and popliteal artery aneurysms or pseudoaneurysms may be recognized on US. Nerve damage caused by compression and intraneural ganglia of the common peroneal nerve may be appreciated with US. The posterior knee cartilage can be scanned for evidence of degenerative change and crystal diseases such as gout and pseudogout. The posterior aspects of the menisci may also be viewed sonographically. However, the menisci as well as the posterior cruciate ligament are better evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, USA

    Mark H. Greenberg

  2. Division of Rheumatology, Columbia VA Health Care System, Department of Internal Medicine, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, USA

    Alvin Lee Day

  3. Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Advocate Christ Medical Center, Advocate Medical Group, Chicago, IL, USA

    Suliman Alradawi

Authors
  1. Mark H. Greenberg
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  2. Alvin Lee Day
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  3. Suliman Alradawi
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Correspondence to Mark H. Greenberg .

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Greenberg, M.H., Day, A.L., Alradawi, S. (2023). Posterior Knee. In: Manual of Musculoskeletal Ultrasound . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-37416-6_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-37416-6_17

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-37415-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-37416-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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