Radiology, Vol 188, 689-693, Copyright © 1993 by Radiological Society of North America
Hematopoietic bone marrow within the proximal humeral epiphysis in normal adults: investigation with MR imaging
SA Mirowitz
Department of Radiology, Jewish Hospital, Washington University Medical Center, St Louis, MO.
The occurrence of hematopoietic bone marrow within the axial skeleton and
meta-diaphyseal regions of long bones is well known. However, it has been
generally accepted that hematopoietic marrow is not present within the
epiphysis of long bones in normal adults. This study involved evaluation of
marrow patterns in 96 patients presenting for shoulder magnetic resonance
(MR) imaging examinations. Residual hematopoietic marrow was present within
the proximal humeral metaphysis in 99% of patients and extended into the
epiphysis in 62%. Epiphyseal hematopoietic marrow was more prominent in
female subjects (P = .015) and showed correlation with prominence of
hematopoietic marrow within the proximal humeral metaphysis (P = .01). The
most characteristic pattern was a curvilinear distribution of hematopoietic
marrow involving the subcortical region of the medial humeral head, though
in some patients more centrally located patchy or globular regions of
hematopoietic marrow were observed. These findings indicate that when
signal intensity variations are observed within the epiphysis on MR images,
the possibility of residual or reconverted hematopoietic marrow should be
considered.
