Ultrasonography in the knee. Clinical aspects.

In at least three types of soft tissue injuries of the knee, meniscal, tears, ligament tears, and patellar tendinitis, ultrasound can be a useful diagnostic adjunct. In some cases, the use of ultrasonography may reduce the morbidity associated with more invasive diagnostic techniques, such as arthrography and arthroscopy. More work needs to be done comparing ultrasonographic findings with surgical findings. As more experience is gathered by the ultrasonographer, this technique may replace arthrography and possibly diagnostic arthroscopy in predicting anatomic injury.