The role of PETRA MRI sequences in the diagnosis of chondromatosis of the temporomandibular joint with erosion of the glenoid fossa.

Synovial chondromatosis is a benign condition characterised by the presence of small cartilaginous nodules in the joint; its aetiology is unknown. Only a few cases of temporomandibular chondromatosis are described in the literature. In some cases, the synovial chondromatosis can erode the adjacent bone structures, such as the glenoid fossa, middle cranial fossa, and internal carotid canal. In these cases, besides MRI, the gold standard to verify the erosion of the glenoid fossa is a computed tomography scan. The aim of this study is to report the use of MRI with PETRA (pointwise encoding time reduction with radial acquisition) sequences for the diagnosis and follow-up of temporomandibular joint chondromatosis with suspected erosion of the glenoid fossa.