Talar beak sign (talus)

Last revised by Evangeline Collins on 5 Aug 2024

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Gaillard F, Collins E, Campos A, et al. Talar beak sign (talus). Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 24 Mar 2025) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-10279

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-10279

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/10279?embed_domain=audioexotica.com%252Fplacing-sounds-atmos-mix

rID:

10279

Article created:

31 Jul 2010, Frank Gaillard ◉ ◈

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Frank Gaillard had no recorded disclosures.

View Frank Gaillard's current disclosures

Last revised:

5 Aug 2024, Evangeline Collins

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Evangeline Collins had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.

View Evangeline Collins's current disclosures

Revisions:

12 times, by 10 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Musculoskeletal

Sections:

Signs

Tags:

refs, stub

Synonyms:

Talar beak
Talar-beak sign

The talar beak sign is seen in cases of tarsal coalition, and refers to a superior projection of the distal aspect of the talus. It is most frequently encountered in talocalcaneal coalition. It is thought to result from abnormal biomechanic stresses at the talonavicular joint.

Terminology

The term bird's beak sign is used in a number of other contexts: see bird beak sign (disambiguation).

Differential diagnosis

It needs to be distinguished from:

an osteophyte due to degenerative change at the talonavicular joint
the talar ridge found more proximally at the site of insertion of the ankle capsule ¹; the normal talar ridge is several millimetres high and has a straight or slightly convex, graded slope proximally, and a straight, sharp margin distally ³
a hypertrophic talar ridge may be present with no coexisting coalition, e.g. in patients with DISH, acromegaly, rheumatoid arthritis or in athletes ²