The radiology of osteomyelitis

In the early stages of acute osteomyelitis, bone scanning is especially helpful. It is important to correlate the bone scan with clinical findings because the scan is nonspecific. Radiograms reveal the extent of disease, but may lag behind clinical findings; however, plain film studies may reveal sequestra not seen by other means. Gallium scanning may be of value in osteomyelitis, as may be computerized tomography.