the thickened and expanded bone rim at the upper border of the ilium. Also, see iliac crest.
2. Pathology
The iliac crest is one of the major sites of biopsy bone. This site is easily accessible, and bone alterations in the iliac crest often reflect changes in other regions, such as the spine or long tubular bones. Biopsy specimens are frequently submitted to histologic and histomorphometrical analysis to evaluate for osteoporosis or osteomalacia.
Fractures of the sacroiliac joint may extend from the iliac wing to the middle of the posterior superior iliac crest.
In ankylosing spondylitis, enthesopathy is prominent in the iliac crests. Frequently patients have osteoporosis, bone erosions and reactive sclerosis. Similar abnormalities are seen in diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis DISH , in which additional finding is whiskering (bone proliferation) at the iliac crest and other sites.
DR
