Nuclear medicine techniques in arthritis.

An historical review of radionuclide applications to the assessment of synovitis is presented. Contemporary radiopharmaceuticals are grouped into vascular, bone, and inflammatory markers, and their clinical utility and efficacy in disclosing peripheral synovitis and osteoarthritis are surveyed. There is focus on the debate over the usefulness of quantitative sacroiliac joint measurements for screening sacroiliitis, the significance of the negative peripheral joint scan in patients presenting with polyarthralgia, and the suitability of the joint scan to monitor the response to medical treatment objectively.