الفهرس 
Anatomical overviewOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Diffusion-weighted (DW) imaging is a functional magnetic reso¬nance (MR) imaging technique that can readily be incorporated into a routine non–contrast material–enhanced MR imaging pro¬tocol with little additional scanning time. DW imaging is based on changes in the Brownian motion of water molecules caused by tissue microstructure. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) is a quantitative measure of Brownian movement: Low ADC values typically reflect highly cellular microenvironments in which dif¬fusion is restricted by the presence of cell membranes, whereas acellular regions allow free diffusion and result in elevated ADC values. Thus, with ADC mapping, one may derive useful quantita¬tive information regarding the cellularity of a musculoskeletal lesion using a nonenhanced technique. The role of localized DW imaging in differentiating malignant from benign osseous and soft-tissue le¬sions is still evolving; when carefully applied, however, this modality has proved helpful in a subset of tumor types, such as nonmyxoid soft-tissue tumors. Successful application of DW imaging in the evalu¬ation of musculoskeletal lesions requires familiarity with potential diagnostic pitfalls that stem from technical artifacts and confound¬ing factors unrelated to lesion cellularity. Further investigation is needed to evaluate the impact of DW imaging–ADC mapping on management and outcome in patients with musculoskeletal lesions.