Arthrography

Abstract

Arthrography is the imaging technique by which the intra-articular structures of a joint are rendered visible or more conspicuous by the introduction of a contrast medium. It was first described only 10 years after the discovery of X-rays using a negative contrast medium (air or oxygen), but it was not until the 1930s that the use of positive contrast media (iodine based) was introduced in the knee. As early as 1934 the value of the double-contrast technique was recognised (Bircher and Oberholzer 1934). Over the next 30 years, further refinements were introduced (Freiberger et al. 1966) such that it was the imaging technique of choice for internal derangements of the knee until the mid-1980s (Butt and McIntyre 1969; Stoker 1980) Today it has been largely rendered obsolete in the knee by the introduction of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound. It remains, however, a useful adjunct to both MR imaging and CT with socalled MR arthrography and CT arthrography (see Chaps. 3 and 4).