The term inflammatory arthritis encompasses a variety of conditions featuring synovial inflammation as a defining characteristic, with resultant local tissue damage occurring over time. These arthritides often share overlapping clinical and imaging characteristics, although the pattern of joint involvement, specific appearance of pathologic changes, and associated findings often allow imaging-based differentiation or individual arthritides.
Key points
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Inflammatory arthritis refers to a group of arthritides with similar, often overlapping, clinical and imaging characteristics.
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A variety of imaging modalities may be used for the evaluation of patients with inflammatory arthritis, with radiographs, ultrasound scan, and MRI having the widespread clinical use.
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These modalities tend to complement one another, each individual modality having its own set of strengths and weaknesses.
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Knowledge of the expected appearance of imaging findings associated with inflammatory arthritis for each of these modalities aids in the timely diagnosis and accurate monitoring of patients with these conditions.
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