MR imaging aids evaluation of a number of abnormalities of the bones, ligaments, and soft tissues in the wrist. These include ligamentous disruption, disorders of the triangular fibrocartilage, ulnar impaction sydrome, damage to articular cartilage, distal radioulnar joint instability, fracture, avascular necrosis, tendinopathy, nerve entrapment syndromes, synovial abnormalities, and soft-tissue masses.
Ligamentous Disruption and Carpal Instability
• Proximal intercarpal ligaments. The scapholunate and lunotriquetral ligaments are important for carpal stability. These ligaments bridge the dorsal, proximal, and…
• Extrinsic ligaments. MRI may provide an alternative to wrist arthroscopy for evaluation of extrinsic ligament injury. Most of the extrinsic ligaments abut the…
Disorders of Triangular Fibrocartilage
The triangular fibrocartilage is an important structure that cushions the ulnocarpal articulation and stabilizes the distal..
Ulnar Impaction Syndrome
The distribution of forces transmitted across the wrist through the radius and ulna is associated with the relative…
Cartilage
Cartilage lesions can result from trauma or arthritis and are often…3
Fracture
MR imaging can be used for detecting subtle or occult fractures in selected problem cases. It can also rule out fractures in a much larger proportion of patients who would otherwise…
Avascular Necrosis
MR imaging is useful for identifying early carpal bone avascular necrosis during the evaluation of…
• Kienböck’s disease. Also known as lunatomalacia, Kienböck’s disease refers to avascular…
Tendinopathy
The extensor tendons of the wrist are divided into six compartments that overlie the…
Nerve Entrapment Syndromes
• Carpal tunnel syndrome. The anatomic causes of median nerve compression in the carpal tunnel can be assessed by…
• Guyon’s canal syndrome. The deep motor branch of the ulnar nerve is subject to compression by…
Soft-Tissue Masses
Common benign soft-tissue tumors of the wrist include ganglion, lipoma, neural tumor, and hemangioma. Epithelioid sarcoma is an ominous…
Conclusion
This article was edited from MR Imaging in Wrist Pain by the same author. The complete unabridged version, including all of its images and references, is available at the Apple iBooks Store. See our other MSK and joint articles here.
REFERENCES
- Ringler MD, Murthy NS. MR Imaging of Wrist Ligaments. Magn Reson Imaging Clin N Am. 2015 Aug;23(3):367-91
- Cody ME, Nakamura DT, Small KM, Yoshioka H. MR Imaging of the Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex. Magn Reson Imaging Clin N Am. 2015 Aug;23(3):393-403.
- von Borstel D, Wang M, Small K, Nozaki T, Yoshioka H. High-Resolution MR Imaging of the Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex. Magn Reson Med Sci. 2016 Aug 16.