[Vertebral and costal stippling. A pitfall in scintigraphy].

Bone scintigraphy is largely used for diagnosis and surveillance of osteoarticular diseases. Interpretation of fortuitous increased isotope accumulation elsewhere on the skeleton may be difficult. We report a man with a peripheral seronegative inflammatory arthropathy, whose bone scintigraphy disclosed stippled ribs and vertebral increased isotope uptake, corresponding to rib enthesopathy and vertebral hyperostosis. Better knowledge of these unusual pictures should prevent further unnecessary investigations.