Describing Bone Joint and Muscle

Descriptions of bones, joints and muscle are important to aid accurate documentation of disease involvement - at the time of diagnosis and also as part of monitoring. 

Descriptions are useful when communicating with colleagues (such as telephone advice).

We provide examples relevant to musculoskeletal disease

• Surface anatomy of key joints
• Joint movements of key joints (how these are described and normal ranges of movement)

Some useful terms 

• Arthritis - refers to inflammation of joint(s) and is typified by pain, swelling, warmth, tenderness and limited movement.
• Arthralgia - refers to painful joints without overt swelling.
• Myalgia - refers to muscle pain but usually without tenderness or weakness.
• Myositis - refers to muscle pain and tenderness, often with weakness.
• Enthesitis - refers to inflammation at sites of insertion of tendon, muscle or fascia. Common sites of enthesitis are shown below; 
• Effusion - refers to swelling of a synovial joint 
• Joint count - the number of joints that are swollen or have restricted range of movement or both. A homunculus can be used in clinical practice or as part of clinical trials to mark swollen joints or restricted joints. An example is given below;