Pathology
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Description
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Sonographic Findings
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Sonographic Images
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rheumatiod arthritis
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-a chronic, inflammatory, destructive an sometimes deforming collagen disease that has an autoimmune component
-it is characterized by symmetric inflammation of synovial membranes and increased synovial exudate, leading to thickening of the membranes and swelling of the joints |
-synovial hypertrophy appearing as hypoechoic (most commonly), isoechoic or hyperechoic relative to the subdermal fat, poorly compressible tissue within the joint space
-flow may be demonstrated with colour or power doppler, depending on the inflammatory activity -joint synovial hypertrophy may be seen in the dorsal recesses of the wrist, the volar and dorsal recesses of the metacarpophalangeal and interphalangeal joints of the hand -erosions appear as discontinuity of the bone cortex seen in two orthogonal planes and these erosions begin in the marginal regions of a joint, where the bone cortex is not covered with hyaline cartilage and is directly exposed to joint inflammation (the finding of synovial hypertrophy directly over a cortical irregularity also increases the likelihood that an erosion is present) |
(Jacobson, 2007)
(McNally, 2005, pg. 95, 98-99)
(McNally, 2005, pg. 95, 98-99)