Diagnostic Radiology/Musculoskeletal Imaging/Joint Disorders

A. Normal anatomy

1. Types of joints
 a. Fibrous
 b. Cartilaginous
 c. Synovial
2. Intervertebral discs
3. Entheses

B. General features that should be evaluated for each specific disorder

1. Distribution of involvement
2. Soft tissue changes
3. Joint space width
4. Bone density
5. Osteophytes
6. Subchondral lesions
7. Osseous erosions
8. Proliferative new bone
9. Joint deformity
10. Calcification
11. Intra-articular bodies
12. Osteochondral Defect

C. Specific diseases

1. Osteoarthritis
 a. Primary
 b. Secondary
 c. Erosive (inflammatory)
2. Inflammatory joint diseases
 a. Rheumatoid arthritis
 b. Psoriatic arthritis
 c. Reactive arthritis
 d. Ankylosing spondylitis
 e. Enteropathic spondyloarthropathy
 f. Juvenile chronic arthritis
3. Septic arthritis
 a. Bacterial
 b. Tuberculous
4. Connective tissue disease
 a. Systemic lupus erythematosus
 b. Scleroderma
 c. Dermatomyositis and polymyositis
5. Crystal-associated arthropathies
 a. Gout
 b. Calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD) crystal deposition disease
 c. Calcium hydroxyapatite deposition disease
6. Neuropathic osteoarthropathy (neuropathic joint disease)
 a. Diabetes mellitus
 b. Syringomyelia

Miscellaneous Disorders

  1. Osteochodroses (e.g. Kienbock's)
  2. Jaccoud arthropathy
  3. Arthropathy associated with acquired immune deficiency syndrome
  4. Hemophilic arthropathy
  5. Pigmented villonodular synovitis
  6. Synovial chondromatosis
  7. Lipoma arborescens
  8. Osteitis condensans ilii
  9. Degenerative disc disease
  10. Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis
  11. Tumoral calcinosis
  12. Sarcoidosis