Evaluation of joint disease in the pediatric hand.

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, leukemia, hypertrophic osteoarthropathy, sickle cell disease, and child abuse can all be causes of joint disease in the child's hand. The role of radiology is to diagnose disease and follow disease progression so that therapy can be modified. Because much of the child's hand is unossified cartilage, measurements, bone mineralization, and maturation are important components of the radiologic evaluation.