[Traumatology and diagnosis of scaphoid fracture]

In 9 years, 1,104 patients had one or more roentgenological studies of the scaphoid; 252 fractures of the scaphoid were found. The most reported traumatic mechanism was a fall on the extended wrist. The form of fracture most seen was transverse fracture of the scaphoid; most of the fractures were found in the middle third of the scaphoid. The primary radiodiagnostic procedure should contain pictures of the wrist in two planes and four special pictures of the scaphoid. The "fat-pad sign" seems to be an unreliable indicator of fracture, but nearly two-thirds of fractures of the scaphoid showed a swelling of the soft tissues in the X-ray picture.