Abstract
Combining history and clinical examination with clinician-performed ultrasound enables the rheumatologist to clearly define rheumatic disease entities.
This introduction provides an overview of indications for ultrasound in rheumatology ranging from musculoskeletal pathologies to connective tissue diseases and vasculitis.
The chapter also describes the technical fundamentals of ultrasound including: basic ultrasound physics, “knobology” and how to operate ultrasound equipment, probe orientation/maneuvers, and ultrasound ergonomics.
Distinct anatomic structures like bone, fluid, tendons, and muscles appear differently on an ultrasound image.
Not all signals on an ultrasound image may represent true anatomical structures. This chapter reviews common ultrasound artifacts that the sonographer needs to know, which may mimic pathology but may also be helpful for identifying anatomic structures.
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Schmidt, W.A. (2016). Introduction: Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Indications and Fundamentals. In: Kohler, M. (eds) Musculoskeletal Ultrasound in Rheumatology Review. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32367-1_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32367-1_1
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