The Rheumatic Hand

Many rheumatic diseases cause changes that are visible in the hands. This book provides an overview of the most common rheumatic dis- eases with a focus on their hand manifestations and includes the following topics: Epidemiology, Etiology and Pathogenesis; Hand Manifestations; Further Clinical Mani- festations; and the Diagnosis and Therapy of Each Disease. The rheumatic diseases addressed are oste- oarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate deposition disease, psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis, systemic sclerosis and dermatomyositis/polymyositis. The non-rheumatic diseases included are diabetic cheiroarthropathy, endocarditis, sec- ondary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy and chronic regional pain syndrome. The roles of clinical evaluation, X-ray, MRI and high-resolu- tion ultrasonographic images are also discussed.