Introduction

Radiography has been used in the assessment of bone disease for over 100 years, and today approximately 40 % of all examinations performed in a general department of radiology relate to the musculoskeletal system. The two most prominent indications for radiographic examination are trauma and degenerative joint disease. Until approximately 20 years ago, radiologic examination of the musculoskeletal system was limited to plain film radiography, and this method still provides highly important information. However, during the last two decades, musculoskeletal radiology has undergone a revolution as a result of the introduction and refinement of new diagnostic imaging methods, such as ultrasonography, scintigraphy, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging.

The radiographic features of the growing skeleton differ widely from those of adolescents and adults. This chapter is mainly confined to conditions of adults; the pediatric skeletal radiology is described in chapter 14.

Niels Egund, Kjell Jonsson, Holger Pettersson and Donald Resnick