[Synopsis of wrist pathology. Xeroradiography vs digital radiology]

Pathologic conditions of the wrist involve both musculoskeletal structures (bones and joints) and soft tissues, of which fat pads are an important diagnostic aid to recognize various disorders. The authors report their 5-year experience with Xeroradiography in the diagnosis of various pathologic conditions (e.g., inflammatory, degenerative, and tumoral conditions) of the wrist. The importance of Xeroradiography was emphasized, in the past, because of its characteristic technical properties, especially in demonstrating lower-density tissues tumors. The main advantage of Xeroradiography is the physical phenomenon known as edge effect, which increases image contrast at the borders. Other differences between xeroradiography and conventional radiography are: broader recording latitude of the former, together with its higher resolution power (100 lines/mm), and high exposition power (which makes repeats useless). Thus, Xeroradiography allows the contemporary depiction of various and different structures and densities--e.g., bones and soft tissues. Unfortunately, radiation dose to the patient is higher during Xeroradiography than during conventional radiography. That is why digital radiography has nowadays replaced Xeroradiography. In fact, the former provides images that are comparable with those obtained by means of conventional radiography and--sometimes--even with xeroradiographic images. Moreover, the use of digital radiography allows radiation dose to the patient to be markedly reduced, whereas recording latitude remains the same.