Ankylosing spondylitis: what remains of the standard radiography anno 2004?

ABSTRACT

In this review, the radiographic features of ankylosing spondylitis of the axial skeleton will be discussed shortly. Three pathologic processes, including inflammation, bony repair and ossification occurring consecutively or simultaneously, will contribute to the radiographic picture of ankylosing spondylitis. Typical target sites at which these processes take place are the synovial joints, discovertebral joints and ligamentous attachments or entheses of the axial skeleton.