Objective: Normal anatomic variants of the acetabular labrum are observed on MR images and include labral variants, several sublabral sulci, and perilabral sulcus. Because variants can be misidentified as labral abnormalities such as labral tears, the radiologist needs to avoid the pitfall of mistaking variants as abnormalities.
Conclusion: The hip has multiple anatomic variants that can mimic abnormalities at hip MRI. The labrum has several anatomic variants that can be confused with true labral tears.