Arthritis

Excerpt

Imaging plays an important role in the diagnosis and management of joint disease. However, to accurately diagnose the underlying cause of a patient’s arthritis, consideration must be given to the clinical information available as well as to the imaging features of the disease. The pattern of joint involvement in each case is particularly important, with consideration of the number of joints involved, whether or not the joints are affected symmetrically on both sides of the body, and which specific joints are affected. In cases of peripheral arthritis involving the small joints of the hands and feet, the distribution of joint disease detected on the radiograph is often as important in making the correct diagnosis as the radiographic features of the disease.

While cross-sectional imaging modalities have an important role to play, the conventional radiograph remains fundamental to the diagnosis of joint disease and is commonly the first imaging investigation undertaken.