2008 Wrist Arthritis eMedicine Orthopedics

Description: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative condition in which the articular cartilage on the surfaces of the bones that form joints progressively deteriorates. The terms osteoarthrosis and OA are often used interchangeably. Although inflammation is generally absent in this degenerative condition, most physicians commonly refer to it as OA. Hence, this is the term in daily use.1 OA is common in weight-bearing joints. Although the wrist is not a weight-bearing joint, OA of the wrist is not an uncommon condition that orthopedic surgeons encounter in day-to-day practice. Wrist arthritis is also common in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which is a systemic autoimmune inflammatory disorder that affects the joints; in the upper limb, the wrist is most frequently affected. RA invariably results in functional difficulty over time.
Synonyms and related keywords: OA, osteoarthritis, RA, rheumatoid arthritis, wrist osteoarthritis, wrist dysfunction, wrist pain, wrist stiffness, upper extremity arthritis, upper extremity osteoarthritis, Kienböck disease, Mannerfelt lesion, caput ulna syndrome, wrist arthroscopy, wrist denervation, wrist synovectomy, wrist arthrodesis, triscaphe arthrodesis, lunate-triquetrum arthrodesis, lunatetriquetrum arthrodesis, radioscaphoid arthrodesis, radio-scaphoid arthrodesis, scapholunocapitate fusion, radiolunate fusion, total wrist fusion, TWF, proximal row carpectomy, total wrist arthroplasty
Lakshmanan & Sher 2008 Updated 2011