The Radiological Anatomy of the Scaphoid

The complex shape of the scaphoid and its orientation within the carpus makes the radiological interpretation of scaphoid anatomy difficult. To improve our understanding of how the anatomy appears on plain X-ray, a study was performed using dry cadaver bones. Salient anatomical features were outlined using radiopaque markers, the bones set in wax blocks and the blocks X-rayed in the same axis as six "standard" scaphoid views. The pictures obtained were then compared with clinical X-rays.