title: Localized Sudeck's dystrophy and distal interphalangeal osteoarthritis of a finger: anatomicoradiologic study.
abstract: After an injury to the right ring finger, a 44-year-old woman experienced pain in the distal interphalangeal joint. A subcutaneous mucoid cyst was noted near the joint. The x-ray films revealed no fracture but a narrowing of the joint space and a well-defined radiolucent area in the ulnar condyle of the middle phalanx. The biopsy specimen of this area excluded infection or tumor and revealed active osteogenic remodelling. These elements permitted a diagnosis of distal interphalangeal osteoarthritis that was associated with highly localized Sudeck's dystrophy (also called " parcellar algodystrophy"). This unusual case suggests the possibility that this dystrophy might be favored by an "osteoarthritic terrain" and might also play a role in the evolution of the osteoarthritis.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005384:Finger Joint / Q000473:pathology*; D005385:Fingers / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D011859:Radiography; D012019:Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*