Spilled teacup sign (wrist)

Last revised by Craig Hacking on 13 Mar 2019

The spilled teacup sign describes abnormal volar displacement and tilt of a dislocated lunate on lateral radiographs of the wrist 1,2. The convexity of the lunate is no longer in articulation with the distal radius while the concavity is no longer in articulation with the capitate. It is an important sign to help differentiate lunate dislocation from perilunate dislocation. In the latter, the lunate remains in articulation with the distal radius and therefore does not appear to 'spill' forward.

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