Musculoskeletal Radiology is a specialty of radiology that looks at bones and their surrounding soft tissues. The soft tissues include: muscles, tendons, ligaments, fat, nerves and vessels. It uses the following imaging modalities: X-Ray plain films, ultrasound, MRI, CT, CT arthrography, MR arthrography, bone densitometry, and flouroscopy. The need for musculoskeletal imaging occurs with trauma, sport-related injuries, arthritis, infection, cancer, congenital diseases, metabolic & endocrine diseases, diseases of the hematopoetic system (such as anemias), crystal-induced diseases (such as gout), and for assessment prior to surgery.
More information on Musculoskeletal Radiology can be found at the following web sites:
The British Society of Musculoskeletal Radiology
Musculoskeletal Radiology Signs
Patient Educational Resources:
From http://www.radiologyinfo.com . This is a web site with descriptions of radiologic procedures.
Medline Plus, a web site of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health also has many links under diagnostic imaging.
