Down to the bone

THE term “bone bruise” encompasses a group of bone injuries all with a similar appearance on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A bone bruise is somewhat different to the bruises that show following a blow to soft tissues, where bleeding creates the yellow-brown discolouration seen on the skin in humans. With a bone bruise, bleeding may occur in the affected bone, but there are other explanations possible for the same appearance on MRI.

Bone bruises may also be called bone marrow lesions, bone oedema, bone contusions and occult fractures. And some of these names imply more specific causes or types of pathology.

The characteristic feature of a bone bruise on MRI is increased fluid in the bone, most accurately defined by high signal (white) on a