Update on Hand and Wrist Imaging

When Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen created the first radiograph of his wife Anna Bertha's hand in December 1895, the history of radiology and hand and wrist imaging was born.[1] Roentgen's first clinical application was the detection of a wrist pathology, the Colles fracture, a year later.[2] From a 20-minute exposure needed at that time for a radiograph to milliseconds now, and from a standard radiograph to the advanced imaging techniques available today, the understanding of hand and wrist pathology keeps reaching new heights.[3]

This issue of Seminars in Musculoskeletal Radiology focuses on hand and wrist imaging. It will also be the focus of the 2021 European Society of Musculoskeletal Radiology meeting held in June in Kraków, Poland. The topic was chosen intentionally in a country imbued by Fryderyk Chopin to address a variety of pathologies including issues related to “musician's hand.”

In their update on imaging of the hand and wrist, the authors in this issue illustrate our current ability to visualize the complex anatomy and understanding of hand and wrist pathologies, thanks to the recent technological advances in musculoskeletal imaging (including ultrasonography [US], computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]), together with the development of hand surgery and new arthroscopic techniques.[4]

Consecutive articles discuss the wide spectrum of acute bone injuries (by de Jonge et al), extremely common in daily clinical practice, and osteoarthritis (by Grunz et al), affecting particular joints of the wrist. Further, a didactic approach of carpal instability is provided (by Schmitt et al), as well as advanced imaging of extrinsic and intrinsic ligament injuries, including the new concept of scapholunate complex (by Shahabpour et al). Postoperative imaging including triangular fibrocartilage complex is developed by Cerezal et al. Thumb injuries and instabilities are reviewed and illustrated by Blum et al. Rosskopf et al address high-resolution US and MRI of tendons and pulleys; Chhabra et al provide a comprehensive imaging of hand and wrist neuropathies with US and MR neurography.

A detailed overview of hand masses, including pseudotumors and benign and malignant neoplasms with their specific imaging features, was written by Teh et al. Less common rheumatic diseases affecting hand and wrist in adults and children are reviewed by Sudoł-Szopińska et al, and Grainger et al clarify radiologic imaging of metabolic and endocrine diseases. Last, but not least, the article of Vanhoenacker et al on congenital skeletal abnormalities of the hand and wrist guides readers through a systematic radiologic analysis of the bones, helping us recognize these rare diseases.

As guest editors of this issue, we would like to thank each of the authors for their brilliant contributions. We are convinced that both radiologists in training and experts in hand and wrist imaging will find valuable information to assist them in achieving accurate clinical diagnoses and to enrich their knowledge of these evolving topics.

Publication History

Article published online:
03 June 2021

• References

• 1 Schreibman KL, Freeland A, Gilula LA, Yin Y. Imaging of the hand and wrist. Orthop Clin North Am 1997; 28 (04) 537-582
• 2 Eisenberg RL. Early radiology. In: Radiology: An illustrated History St. Louis, MO: Mosby Yearbook; 1992. 63.
• 3 Bhat AK, Kumar B, Acharya A. Radiographic imaging of the wrist. Indian J Plast Surg 2011; 44 (02) 186-196
• 4 ESSR Sports Imaging Subcommittee. MRI of Wrist and Hand. Vienna, Austria: Breitenseher; 2021