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Practical US of the forefoot

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Abstract

Disorders affecting the forefoot are common in the clinical practice. Accurate history and physical examination are the mainstays of diagnosis but imaging modalities are frequently obtained to confirm the clinical suspicion and plan appropriate treatment. In this article we will present the ultrasound (US) technique of examination of the forefoot followed by a brief description of the normal US anatomy and of US appearance of the most frequent forefoot disorders; rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, overuse arthropathy, Morton neuromas, bursitis, mucoid cysts, foreign bodies, bone disorders.

Riassunto

Le patologie che interessano l’avampiede sono frequenti nella pratica clinica. L’anamnesi accurata e l’esame fisico sono i pilastri della diagnosi, ma le modalità di imaging sono spesso necessarie per confermare il sospetto clinico e pianificare un trattamento appropriato. In questo articolo presenteremo la tecnica dell’esame ecografico dell’avampiede, seguita da una breve descrizione dell’anatomia ecografica e delle caratteristiche delle lesioni più frequenti nell’avampiede: artrite reumatoide, osteoartrosi, artropatia da sovraccarico, neuroma di Morton, borsite, cisti mucoide, corpi estranei, lesioni ossee.

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Conflict of interest

Stefano Bianchi declare that he has no conflict of interest.

Human and animal studies

The study described in this article did not include any procedures involving humans or animals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CIM SA, Cabinet d’Imagerie Médical, route de Malagnou 40A, 1208, Geneva, Switzerland

    Stefano Bianchi

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  1. Stefano Bianchi
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Correspondence to Stefano Bianchi.

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Bianchi, S. Practical US of the forefoot. J Ultrasound 17, 151–164 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40477-014-0078-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40477-014-0078-5

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