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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffOften, a torn meniscus can be identified during a physical exam. Your doctor may bend your knee and perform physical exam maneuvers to detect a meniscal tear. Your doctor may also obtain an X-ray of the knee or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) — a technique that uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create cross-sectional images of your knee — to confirm the diagnosis or study the extent of the tear.
In some cases, your doctor may use an instrument known as an arthroscope to study the inside of your knee. The arthroscope is inserted through a tiny incision near your knee. The device contains a light and a small camera, which projects an enlarged image of the inside of your knee onto a monitor. If necessary, surgical instruments can be inserted through the arthroscope or through additional small incisions in your knee.
- Meniscal tear. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00358&return_link=0. Accessed Nov. 29, 2008.
- Anderson BC. Meniscal injury of the knee. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 25, 2008.
- Knee arthroscopy. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00299&return_link=0. Accessed Nov. 29, 2008
- Urquhart MW et al. Meniscal injuries in the adult. In: DeLee JC et al. DeLee and Drez's Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2003. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/114764765-3/786313327/1103/860.html#4-u1.0-B0-7216-8845-4..50030-2--subchapter5_3559. Accessed Dec. 10, 2008.
