Three deposition diseases are discussed in this chapter: hemochromatosis, Wilson disease, and ochronosis. Two of these diseases are extremely rare. Each has been associated with radiographic chondrocalcinosis, or calcification of hyaline or fibrous cartilage. However, if chondrocalcinosis is defined as…
Hydroxyapatite deposition disease (HADD) is an extremely common disorder causing periarticular disease in the form of tendinitis or bursitis. Only rarely does it cause true articular disease. Calcium hydroxyapatite deposits in muscles, capsules, bursae, and tendon sheaths. Although this deposition…
Calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD) crystal deposition disease is a common disorder and the most common crystal arthropathy. In a typical hospital population, one to three patients per week will be observed with some manifestation of this disorder. It typically affects…
Gout is the oldest recognized arthropathy. It was originally called podagra, from the Greek pous , meaning foot, and agra , meaning attack. In ancient history all arthritis was called gout. Today we know it to be a specific arthropathy…
Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH), also known as ankylosing hyperostosis or Forestier disease, is not an arthropathy. The articular cartilage, adjacent bone margins, and synovium are not affected. DISH appears to be a bone-forming diathesis in which ossification occurs at…
Neuropathic osteoarthropathy presents the most dramatic radiographic picture of all of the arthropathies. As a result, it may produce a diagnostic dilemma. Although it is known that various neurological disorders play a prominent role in the development of the osteoarthropathy,…
Osteoarthritis is the most common arthropathy. Although many arthropathies lead to secondary osteoarthritic changes, this chapter deals with primary osteoarthritis and osteoarthritis secondary to alteration of normal mechanics across a weight-bearing joint. The radiographic hallmarks of osteoarthritis are as follow:…
Ankylosing spondylitis is the chronic inflammatory disease that affects primarily the axial skeleton and only secondarily the appendicular skeleton. It is seen predominantly in males between the ages of 15 and 35 years. Of all the inflammatory arthropathies, it is…
Reactive arthritis (formerly known as Reiter disease) is usually associated with conjunctivitis and urethritis. It is a disease predominantly of males between 15 and 35 years of age and is transmitted through either epidemic dysentery or sexual intercourse. The arthritis…
For years psoriatic arthritis was considered part of the spectrum of rheumatoid arthritis. The classification of psoriatic arthritis as a “rheumatoid variant” persists today. However, the radiographic manifestations, along with clinical and laboratory data, establish psoriatic arthritis as a separate…