Morphological research of normal menisci in children and adolescents based on MRI measurements
Authors: Zhu Tianfeng , Xia Yongjie , Deng Chao , Zhou Yibiao , Qiu Xin , Deng Hansheng , Sun Yiyuan , Tang Jiachen , Fu Guibing , Tang Shengping , You Chao 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Objective
To measure the morphological parameters of the normal meniscus in children and provide a reference for diagnosing and treating children's meniscus-related diseases.
Methods
The imaging data of children who underwent 3.0T knee joint magnetic resonance plain scan were retrospectively analyzed, and the children were divided into group A, group B, group C, and group D according to age. Fifty children were randomly selected in each group, with 200 knee joints, including 400 menisci (200 cases on the inner side and 200 cases on the outer side). Retrieve T2WI images, measure tibial plateau width (TPW), medial tibial plateau width (MTPW), lateral tibial plateau width (LTPW), tibial intercondylar ridge width (TIRW), tibial intercondylar ridge height (TIRH), lateral meniscus body thickness (LMBT), lateral meniscus body width (LMBW), medial meniscus body thickness (MMBT), and medial meniscus body width (MMBW) on the coronal plane; in the sagittal plane, measure the lateral meniscus anterior horn thickness (LMAT), lateral meniscal anterior horn width (LMAW), lateral meniscal posterior horn thickness (LMPT), lateral meniscal posterior horn width (LMPW), lateral meniscal sagittal diameter (LMSD), medial meniscal posterior horn Thickness (MMAT), medial meniscal anterior horn width (MMAW), medial meniscal posterior horn thickness (MMPT), medial meniscal posterior horn width (MMPW), and medial meniscal sagittal diameter (MMSD). They were divided into groups by age, sex, inside and outside, and statistical analysis was carried out. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results
We obtained morphological data on the meniscus (anterior horn, body, and posterior horn), tibial plateau, and tibial intercondylar ridge in children of all ages. Through pairwise comparisons between age groups, we found that the indicators of group A are smaller than those of group B (except LMAT), and group B's indicators are lower than group C's (except TIRW). However, in the comparison between group C and group D, there was no statistical difference in some meniscus indexes (LMBT, LMPW, LMSD, MMAT, MMBT, MMPT; P values were 0.15, 0.70, 0.38, 0.13, 0.82, 0.16, respectively), and the rest The meniscus-related indicators in group C were greater than those in group D (LMAT, LMAW, LMBW, LMPT, MMAW, MMBW, MMPW, MMSD); the data of tibial plateau and intercondylar crest in group C were smaller than those in group D (TPW, LTPW, MTPW, TIRW ). The comparison of the inner and outer meniscus shows obvious differences in shape between the two. Through gender group comparison, we found that the meniscus morphology parameters of men and women were consistent.
Conclusion
We obtained the morphological data of the normal meniscus, tibial plateau, and tibial intercondylar ridge in children, which provides a reference for the diagnosis and treatment of meniscus diseases. Within the range of 0–15 years old, the meniscus gradually increases with growth and development; after 15 years old, the meniscus no longer increases, and some areas show degeneration. The lateral meniscus is generally larger than the medial meniscus. There was no significant correlation between meniscal shape and gender.