In brief: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is highly accurate for diagnosing meniscal tears. It can be performed reliably even when the patient is in acute pain and when joint effusion and hemarthrosis are present. Though it is dependent on a machine and a protocol, MRI is essentially operator-independent, unlike arthrography and arthroscopy, which rely on operator skill. MRI has the potential to improve the accuracy of arthroscopy because it can localize pathology and prompt more thorough examination of difficult areas.