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Enthesopathy

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Manual of Musculoskeletal Ultrasound

Abstract

The enthesis is where tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissue attach to bone. Sonographic evaluation of these insertions has become one of the most exciting uses of ultrasound in rheumatology. Enthesitis may occur not only with repetitive mechanical injuries but also with systemic inflammatory diseases, particularly spondyloarthropathy. However, enthesitis may be associated with rheumatoid arthritis, gout, calcium pyrophosphate deposition, sarcoid, diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis, and osteoarthritis. Ultrasound evaluation of tendon or ligament abnormalities, including power Doppler evidence of neovascularization, is quickly becoming the preferred method for enthesitis diagnosis. The finding of enthesitis along the finger tendons in a patient with seronegative polyarthritis argues for the diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis, subject to the clinical context.

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Correspondence to Mark H. Greenberg .

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Greenberg, M.H., Day, A.L., Alradawi, S. (2023). Enthesopathy. In: Manual of Musculoskeletal Ultrasound . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-37416-6_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-37416-6_25

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