Preface

Abstract

Necessity is the mother of invention. Perhaps in my case, rather than invention, necessity gave rise to exploration and discovery. It is with great humility that I must admit that my interest in imaging of the hand stemmed from a complete and utter lack of knowledge of its intricate and detailed anatomy, and to a lesser degree a deficient fund of knowledge of the less common pathology encountered in this region. Faced with the realization that I had to “bone up” (pardon the pun) on both the aforementioned in order to provide helpful interpretations of imaging studies of the hand, I set out on the path of exploration, both of existing literature as well as active research. At some ill-defined moment through the course of this journey, I developed a true affinity for the subject matter and a deep appreciation for those with expertise in imaging of the hand. It has been my extreme pleasure to work with many of these very experts in the production of this issue of European Journal of Radiology, an issue that I hope offers the reader a facile, practical approach to the imaging diagnosis and characterization of various types of pathology in the hand.In the first articles of the issue, Drs. de Maeseneer, Pfirrmann, and Zanetti stress the importance of being familiar with normal anatomy and anatomic variants in order to avoid pitfalls in imaging diagnosis, and to optimally characterize pathology. In the third and fourth articles, Drs. Ragheb, Clement and co-authors discuss the imaging of commonly encountered pathology in the hand. Subsequently, Drs. Peterson, Bancroft and Kransdorf offer an erudite discussion of the imaging approach to tumors encountered in the hand. Dr. Drape and co-authors follow this introduction to hand tumor imaging with an elegant discussion of vascular lesions of the hand exquisitely illustrated with various types of imaging. Last, but certainly not least, Drs. Connolly and Jaramillo discuss the imaging of the pediatric hand, focusing on soft tissue lesions encountered in this setting.It is my extreme pleasure to have had the opportunity to work with this highly talented and revered group of experts in the field of musculoskeletal radiology. I must extend my deepest and most sincere thanks for their hard work in the preparation of these manuscripts. I am very aware that the production of such work is a labor of love, driven by the desire to educate. Necessity is the mother of invention. Perhaps in my case, rather than invention, necessity gave rise to exploration and discovery. It is with great humility that I must admit that my interest in imaging of the hand stemmed from a complete and utter lack of knowledge of its intricate and detailed anatomy, and to a lesser degree a deficient fund of knowledge of the less common pathology encountered in this region. Faced with the realization that I had to “bone up” (pardon the pun) on both the aforementioned in order to provide helpful interpretations of imaging studies of the hand, I set out on the path of exploration, both of existing literature as well as active research. At some ill-defined moment through the course of this journey, I developed a true affinity for the subject matter and a deep appreciation for those with expertise in imaging of the hand. It has been my extreme pleasure to work with many of these very experts in the production of this issue of European Journal of Radiology, an issue that I hope offers the reader a facile, practical approach to the imaging diagnosis and characterization of various types of pathology in the hand. In the first articles of the issue, Drs. de Maeseneer, Pfirrmann, and Zanetti stress the importance of being familiar with normal anatomy and anatomic variants in order to avoid pitfalls in imaging diagnosis, and to optimally characterize pathology. In the third and fourth articles, Drs. Ragheb, Clement and co-authors discuss the imaging of commonly encountered pathology in the hand. Subsequently, Drs. Peterson, Bancroft and Kransdorf offer an erudite discussion of the imaging approach to tumors encountered in the hand. Dr. Drape and co-authors follow this introduction to hand tumor imaging with an elegant discussion of vascular lesions of the hand exquisitely illustrated with various types of imaging. Last, but certainly not least, Drs. Connolly and Jaramillo discuss the imaging of the pediatric hand, focusing on soft tissue lesions encountered in this setting. It is my extreme pleasure to have had the opportunity to work with this highly talented and revered group of experts in the field of musculoskeletal radiology. I must extend my deepest and most sincere thanks for their hard work in the preparation of these manuscripts. I am very aware that the production of such work is a labor of love, driven by the desire to educate.