Definition

This test is an x-ray of a knee, shoulder, hip, wrist, ankle, or other joint.

Alternative Names

How the test is performed

The test is performed in a hospital radiology department or in the health care provider's office by an x-ray technician. You will position the joint to be x-rayed on the table, pictures are taken, and the joint is repositioned, if necessary, for different views.

How to prepare for the test

Inform the health care provider if you are pregnant. Remove all jewelry.

How the test will feel

The x-ray is not uncomfortable, except possibly from positioning the area being x-rayed.

Why the test is performed

The x-ray is used to detect fractures, tumors, or degenerative conditions of the joint.

What abnormal results mean

The x-ray may reveal arthritis, fractures, bone tumors, degenerative bone conditions, and osteomyelitis (inflammation of the bone caused by an infection).

The test may also be performed to investigate the following conditions:

• Acute gouty arthritis (gout)
• Adult still's disease
• Caplan's syndrome
• Chondromalacia patellae
• Chronic gouty arthritis
• Congenital dislocation of the hip
• Fungal arthritis
• Non-gonococcal (septic) bacterial arthritis
• Osteoarthritis
• Pseudogout
• Psoriatic arthritis
• Reiter's syndrome
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Runner's knee
• Tuberculous arthritis

What the risks are

There is low radiation exposure. X-rays are monitored and regulated to provide the smallest amount of radiation exposure needed to produce the image. Most experts feel that the risk is low compared with the benefits. Pregnant women and children are more sensitive to the risks of the x-ray.

---

Review Date:8/3/2005
Reviewed By: Jonathan Gross, M.D., Department of Radiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.