WHY DO MRI WRIST PATHOLOGY AND ANATOMY.

🧠 WHY MRI for Wrist?

1. Excellent Soft Tissue Contrast

• MRI clearly differentiates muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, nerves, and bone marrow—something other imaging modalities like X-ray or CT can’t do as well.

2. No Radiation

• It uses magnetic fields, not ionizing radiation, so it's safer, especially for younger patients or repeat scans.

• Wrist Anatomy in MRI

MRI is great at showing detailed structures like:

• Bones: Distal radius, ulna, carpal bones (scaphoid, lunate, etc.)

• Cartilage and Joint spaces

• TFCC (Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex)

• Ligaments: Scapholunate, lunotriquetral

• Tendons: Extensor and flexor groups

• Median nerve in carpal tunnel

🩺 Common Wrist Pathologies Detected by MRI

1. Ligament Injuries

   • Scapholunate or lunotriquetral tears

   • TFCC injuries

2. Tendon Problems

   • Tendinitis, tenosynovitis

   • Tendon tears or subluxation

3. Fractures/Contusions

   • Occult fractures (e.g., scaphoid) not visible on X-ray

   • Bone marrow edema

4. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

   • Swelling or compression of the median nerve

5. Ganglion Cysts / Masses

   • Soft tissue lesions well seen on MRI

6. Arthritis

   • Inflammatory or degenerative joint disease

7. Kienböck’s Disease

   • Avascular necrosis of the lunate bone

✨ In Summary:

MRI is preferred because it’s non-invasive, highly detailed, and helps pinpoint the exact structure and type of pathology in complex wrist complaints like pain, instability, or trauma.