Wrist arthrography.

The ligaments of the proximal row of carpal bones and the triangular fibrocartilage (TFC) strongly influence the function and stability of the wrist. Injury to the ligaments may result in chronic wrist pain or instability. Wrist arthrography is valuable in the investigation of such damage when surgical intervention is considered and plain radiography is unrewarding. There are also several technical modifications of the standard radiocarpal arthrography available. Owing to the possibility of congenital perforations and degenerative changes in these ligaments the arthrographic findings should be related to the clinical signs and the age of the patient. CT has less diagnostic importance in this respect while MR imaging is an alternative and may become the method of choice. Both these methods have great potential in the evaluation of soft tissues of the wrist other than the TFC.