In rat patellar cartilage, T2 mapping permits detection of slight or severe proteoglycan depletion and concurrent changes of extracellular matrix when age-matched samples are compared.

T2 mapping allows characterization of variations in cartilage matrix constituents and thickness.

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T2 map is able to characterize quantitatively and qualitatively rat patellar cartilage repair, and thus can be promoted, as a non invasive technique, in clinical longitudinal studies of articular cartilage repair.