Elbow Imaging

Imaging plays a crucial part in diagnosing elbow diseases, but it is accompanied by numerous challenges, both for beginners and experienced radiologists. Although basic concepts of elbow trauma are taught at medical school and during residency, some important aspects of elbow imaging do not receive enough attention. This issue of Seminars in Musculoskeletal Radiology, dedicated to elbow imaging, covers a wide range of topics including those lesser known but crucial aspects that help make a difference in patient care and improve the clinical outcome of our patients. The insights and instructive cases in this issue will broaden your knowledge about the various facets of elbow imaging and help expand your diagnostic abilities when analyzing imaging studies of the elbow. These articles were written by a stellar team of experts. I am very grateful to them for sharing their expertise and experience and for devoting so much time and diligence into their contributions.

In the elbow, a number of intricate anatomical structures are located in close proximity, and to differentiate these structures accurately and identify elbow pathologies, both a detailed knowledge of the anatomy and of normal variants is needed. Pediatric elbow imaging comes with its own challenges, as does the correct imaging technique for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging or direct MR arthrography of the elbow in adult patients. And although most articles here focus on cross-sectional imaging, the art of reading elbow radiographs remains crucial because radiographs are the most commonly used imaging modality to evaluate patients with elbow complaints. All these facets of elbow imaging are reviewed by individual articles that complement each other.

The articles covering the details of the soft tissues of the elbow are separated into imaging of the biceps, brachialis and triceps tendons, the imaging evaluation of acute and chronic tendon injuries of the humeral epicondyles, imaging of acute ligament injuries, and elbow instability with its classic yet often overlooked patterns of injuries seen at imaging. Neuropathies of the upper extremities, as well as neoplastic elbow diseases and their imaging mimickers, are described in detail, and both articles will become helpful companions when you evaluate future patients with soft tissue abnormalities around the elbow joint. And finally, postoperative imaging of the elbow is reviewed, a topic that deserves substantially more attention than it has previously received, and described in another excellent and instructive article in this issue.

It has been a pleasure to edit this up-to-date issue on elbow imaging. I hope you enjoy diving into the articles and that they will become a valuable resource for years to come.

Publication History

Article published online:
27 October 2021