Rotator cuff tear is a common musculoskeletal disorder with pathological changes occurring in the structure of the rotator cuff musculature (fatty infiltration). Severe fatty infiltration, observed on MRI or CT scan, negatively influences the result of rotator cuff reconstruction inhuman beings. The basic histological and biochemical alterations in fatty infiltration of the rotator cuff muscle with torn tendon are still not clear. Differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) examination is a well-established method for the demonstration of thermal consequences of local and global conformational changes in biological systems. With foregoing studies, authors have demonstrated the feasibility of DSC in the investigation of the musculoskeletal system. The aim of this study was to establish the thermograms of the rotator cuff muscles with normal and torn tendons, experimentally induced in rabbits. The DSC results clearly proved that definitive differences are present between the muscles with normal and torn tendons, which have also been demonstrated by MRI and CT scans. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.