Ultrasound imaging of non-traumatic lesions of wrist and hand tendons

Non-traumatic tendon lesions are common and diverse at the wrist and hand. Improvements in high-resolution ultrasound (US) are producing increasingly high-quality images of superficial structures, thus expanding the indications for this imaging modality as a tool for investigating musculoskeletal disorders. The objective of this work is to provide an update on the uses and performance of US in non-traumatic tendon disorders of the wrist and hand. The relevant anatomy is reviewed, and the normal and abnormal ultrasound scan features are described in detail, with attention not only to the tendons but also to closely related structures such as synovial sheaths and bands. The contribution of US to the evaluation of each of the most common disorders is discussed.