Magnetic resonance imaging findings of osteoid osteoma of the proximal femur.

Osteoid osteoma (OO) is a benign bone tumor whose main radiological finding is nidus. OO of the proximal femur can also result in non-specific findings such as hip joint effusion, perinidal bone marrow edema and soft tissue mass. Since the nidus may be difficult to identify with MR, these non-specific findings can lead to erroneous diagnosis. Therefore, MR imaging technique should be optimized in order to identify nidus. Since MR imaging has assumed increasing importance in the evaluation of disorders of the hip, radiologists must be aware of the spectrum of findings of OO of the proximal femur. The aim of this pictorial review is to show the MR imaging findings of intra-articular and extra-articular OO of the proximal femur.