Morphological Analysis of Normal Meniscus on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)-Based Three-Dimensional Reconstruction Models in Healthy Chinese Adults

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this cross-sectional observational study was to determine the morphological meniscus characteristics in a normal Chinese population and assess possible relationships between demographic data and meniscal morphological parameters. MATERIAL/METHODS: We examined 116 menisci (58 lateral and 58 medial) from 29 healthy Chinese volunteers (10 men, 19 women, mean age 26 years [range, 20–33 years]) with MRI and three-dimensional reconstruction using Mimics software. The width, thickness, anteroposterior distance (APD), lateral-medial distance (LMD), and covering angle (CA) were measured on reconstructed models. Univariate analysis was used to evaluate the differences of morphological parameters between the medial and lateral menisci, between sides, and between males and females. Pearson correlation analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between meniscal morphological parameters and body height, weight, and body mass index (BMI). RESULTS: Univariate analysis demonstrated that the width, thickness, APD, LMD, and CA were significantly different between lateral and medial menisci. The LMD and APD of menisci in men were significantly larger than in women. There was no significant difference in meniscal thickness and CA between males and females. The lateral meniscus dimensions were slightly larger in the right knee. According to Pearson correlation analysis, the APDs of both lateral and medial menisci were strongly correlated with height and weight (lateral: r=0.596, r=0.500; medial: r=0.684, r=0.680). CONCLUSIONS: The morphologies of medial and lateral menisci were different and were not significantly correlation with each other. The meniscal width and diameter were correlated with demographic data, but the thickness and CA did not significantly differ by sex, height, or BMI.