Musculoskeletal studies account for an important proportion of the daily clinical practice of most radiologists. For many years following Rontgen's discovery of x-rays in 1895, these studies were confined to plain films and conventional tomography, which substantially limited the contribution of radiology in achieving better diagnosis and treatment of ortho pedic pathologic conditions. The advent of digital radiography, ultrasound, computer tomography and especially magnetic resonance imaging has greatly enhanced the potential of radiologic imaging in this field. Among the benefits to accrue...

During the last decade the therapeutic approach to musculoskeletal tumors has changed dramatically, from ablative surgery with ampu- tation ofthe limb to reconstructive surgery with transplantation of bone and vessels combined with radio-and chemotherapy. This has changed the demands on radiologists and pathologists to a considerable degree. At the same time there has been a manifold increase in the diagnostic possibilities offered by modern radiology, with several new modalities affording a potential for morphologic depiction and tissue character- ization that was unattainable a decade ago....

A thorough knowledge of normal radiological anatomy is necessary for detection and evaluation of pathological changes. In pediatric radiology, normal anatomy and normal proportions of anatomical structures may differ considerably from the adult, and may vary during growth. Therefore, in pediatric radiology there is a multitude of measurements, that in the individual patient is important, but that for the radiologist is not meaningful or even possible to keep in mind. This holds true both for the experienced pediatric radiologist, and for those who practise pediatric radiology only...