The spectrum of soft tissue and skeletal abnormalities of hypertrophic osteoarthropathy.

We review our radiographic experience with hypertrophic osteoarthropathy. Soft tissue abnormalities such as finger clubbing, "elephant feet" and cutis verticis gyrata are well appreciated by plain radiography. Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy is characterized by a bone remodeling process at the tip of the digits. In older patients it is manifested as tuftal hypertrophy whereas in younger individuals acroosteolysis takes place. Radiographic signs of inflammatory arthropathy are conspicuously absent. Periosteal proliferation is an orderly evolving process in 3 dimensions: in the number of affected bones, in the area of involvement of a given bone and in the shape of periostitis.