Original MICA image-reading exercise, unscored. No clinical narrative absent from the source is added.
- Describe visible findings before proposing an interpretation.
- Suggest an interpretation and at least one image limitation.
- Which clinical findings or investigations would complement this observation?
Reveal the explained reading
Ulnar deviation of the fingers
- Direction
- Towards the little-finger border
- Joint
- Metacarpophalangeal
- Association
- Other finger deformities
- Examination
- Motion, tendons, grip
Morphological description
Describe deviation, apparent subluxation and accompanying swan-neck or boutonnière deformities.
Causes and diagnostic direction
This deformity may accompany longstanding rheumatoid arthritis; a photograph does not establish the cause.
Differential diagnoses
Distinguish active inflammation, tendon injury and chronic joint damage; other arthropathies may alter alignment.
Pitfalls and limitations
Old deformity does not measure current inflammation; absent early erosion does not exclude rheumatoid arthritis.
Take-home message
Describe alignment and function, then distinguish inflammation, joint destruction and tendon involvement.
Sources
- Classical hand and foot deformities in rheumatoid arthritis | QJM ↗
- Rheumatoid Arthritis - OrthoInfo - AAOS ↗
Documentary review: 2026-10-12
Media source & rights
- Author
- Amm0nium
- Original source
- Amm0nium · Déformation d’une main · https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rheumatoid_Arthritis_Hand.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Licence
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Changes
- Only proportional resize and WebP conversion; no medical alterations; metadata removed.
- Dimensions
- 900 × 1200 px
- Check
- 2026-10-11