The musculoskeletal curriculum is one of our curriculum articles and aims to be a collection of articles that represent the core of musculoskeletal knowledge.
On this page:
Definition
Topics pertaining to bones, joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments, but excluding the skeletal structures of the head.
Anatomy
Core anatomical topics include:
Upper limb
bones and muscles: rotator cuff
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joints:
regions and spaces: carpal tunnel
Lower limb and pelvis
Spine and chest wall
content pending
Radiological examinations
Plain radiography is the baseline imaging modality in most musculoskeletal problems. Other common musculoskeletal imaging modalities and imaging-guided procedures include:
CT
ultrasound: rotator cuff ultrasound
MRI
Pathology
Trauma
Upper limb
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shoulder injury
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other distal radial fractures
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hand injury
Lower limb
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pelvic and hip injury
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knee injury
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ankle injury
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foot injury
Spine
Bone tumours
There are a bewildering number of bone tumours. Below are listed those considered important either because they are common, or because they are important or because they have specific imaging findings. For a more complete list, please refer to: bone tumours.
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other bone tumours or tumour-like lesions:
Soft tissue tumours
Arthritides
general
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degenerative
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inflammatory
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metabolic and endocrine
Infections
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pyogenic
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tuberculous
fungal
syphilitic
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Congenital and developmental
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upper limb
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lower limb
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spine and chest wall
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general
Sports medicine
Sports medicine encompasses more than just musculoskeletal disease but in radiology, this is the main interaction with this speciality. The following topics concentrate on overuse injuries but bearing in mind that sports medicine encompasses some of the above topics but especially trauma. It should also be noted that many of these conditions can occur outside the sports medicine setting.
General
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tendinitis
paratenonosis
Upper limb
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shoulder girdle
tendinopathy: biceps brachii long head, rotator cuff
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glenoid labral tear
stress fracture/reaction of the proximal humerus
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elbow
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epicondylitis
tendinopathy: distal biceps, distal triceps
bursitis: olecranon
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wrist and hand
tendinopathy - extensor carpi ulnaris
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finger pulley injuries
triangular fibrocartilage complex tear
Thorax
Pelvis and lower limb
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pelvis and hip
bursitis: trochanteric, ischial, iliopsoas
tendinopathy: gluteus minimus/medius, tensor fascia lata
acetabular labral injury
anterior hip impingement
transient osteoporosis of the hip
adductor injury
iliopsoas injury
stress fracture: femoral neck, pubic rami
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thigh
quadriceps injury
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knee
ligament tear: anterior cruciate, posterior cruciate, medial collateral, lateral collateral
tendinopathy: quadriceps, patellar, popliteus
bursitis: pes anserinus, prepatellar, suprapatellar
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leg
stress fracture: tibia and fibula
gastrocnemius/soleus injury
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ankle
ligament injury: lateral collateral, medial collateral, syndesmosis
tendinopathy: Achilles, tibialis posterior, flexor hallucis longus, peroneal
bursitis: retrocalcaneal, retro-Achilles
stress fracture: calcaneal, distal fibular, medial malleolar, talar
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foot
stress fracture: navicular, cuboid, cuneiform, metatarsal, sesamoid
bursitis: adventitial