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Nodes of the hand in Osteoarthritis

Posted on 08. May, 2009 by admin in Rheumatology

Osteoarthritis used to be know as Degenerative joint disease because it was thought to be a consequence of aging. It is now known that many factors play a role in the pathogenesis of OA like:

1. Genetics
2. Joint integrity
3. Local inflammation
4. Mechanical forces (“wear and tear”)
5. Cellular and biochemical processes

The hands are commonly involved in OA. An easy way to remember the names of nodes is with the following mnemonic:

Hold a Bat and a strand of Hair and see which joints are involved the most.

Osteoarthritic enlargements of the DISTAL interphalangeal joints = Heberden’s nodes

Osteoarthritic enlargements of the PROXIMAL interphalangeal joints = Bouchard’s nodes

The first carpometacarpal joint is also usually involved in OA leading to a “squared appearance of the hand”

Images:

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Tags: mnemonic, USMLE