[Arthrosonography in the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis of the knee joint].

The paper presents the capacities of echography in the estimation of the activity of rheumatoid gonitis. A study of knee joints in 126 patients with rheumatoid arthritis has provided the basic ultrasound criteria that are characteristic for the first, second, and third degrees of its progression, which include the pattern of proliferative changes in the synovium, the qualitative and quantitative assessments of intraarticular exudate and its viscosity. The capacities of X-ray study and MRI in the detection of the progression of rheumatoid arthritis are discussed. An algorithm of knee joint radiation study is proposed for patients with rheumatoid arthritis.