D.D.tendon degeneration versus tear

1- look in the coronal view proton density,

2-If you find a hyper intense signal inside the tendon,

3-Look to the coronal view T2 or Stir images,

4- If the lesion is still hyper intense, consider it a tear or

5-If it is hypo or intermediate in intensity, consider it degeneration.

This a proton density image shows mild hyper intense signal in supra spinatous tendon
go to the next image T2 to differentiate about the cause of this hyper intense signal

Here the lesion is still hyper intense in this T2 image giving impression of a tear and not degenenation.