[Peripheral localizations in diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis].

The extra-spinal manifestations of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) are described in 73 consecutive cases, detected during radiographic screening of the thorax for other problems. The characteristic spinal changes (calcification and ossification of the ligaments in the antero-lateral aspects of the vertebral bodies) are present in all individuals. Extra-spinal changes include "whiskering" at the site of the attachment of muscle in the pelvis and long bones, ligament and tendon ossification, periarticular osteophytes, and spurring of the calcaneous and the olecranon. The radiographic patterns in the peripheral skeleton are frequently distinctive and allow the radiologist to suggest the diagnosis, even in the absence of axial radiographs. The diagnosis of DISH is based on preselected radiographic criteria, but the etiology remains elusive.