Diagnostic images in rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, autoimmune, inflammatory disease,which has manifestations at the joints and, in almost halfof the patients, in other systems. The alterations produced at thejoints can get to be deleterious, generating an important deterioration in the quality of life of the patients who suffer from it. In order to evaluate alterations of the muscular and skeletal system, diverse imaging methods have been implemented; among the most widely used has been the simple x-ray. Recently the use of ultrasound as well as magnetic resonance has been for the detection of initial or early phases of the disease. We will review in this article the main indications and utility of these three methods of evaluation.