Editing Rheumatoid arthritis (section)

===Imaging===
[[Image:RheumatoideArthritisAP.jpg|thumb|X-ray of the hand in rheumatoid arthritis]]
[[Image:Inflamatory arthritis2010.JPG|thumb|Appearance of synovial fluid from a joint with inflammatory arthritis]]
[[File:X-ray of right fourth PIP joint with bone erosions by rheumatoid arthritis.jpg|thumb|Closeup of [[bone erosion]]s in rheumatoid arthritis<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Ideguchi H, Ohno S, Hattori H, Senuma A, Ishigatsubo Y | title = Bone erosions in rheumatoid arthritis can be repaired through reduction in disease activity with conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs | journal = Arthritis Research & Therapy | volume = 8 | issue = 3 | pages = R76 | year = 2006 | pmid = 16646983 | pmc = 1526642 | doi = 10.1186/ar1943 | doi-access = free }}</ref>]]
[[X-ray]]s of the hands and feet are generally performed when many joints are affected. In RA, there may be no changes in the early stages of the disease or the x-ray may show [[osteopenia]] near the joint, soft tissue swelling, and a smaller than normal joint space. As the disease advances, there may be bony erosions and subluxation. Other medical imaging techniques such as [[magnetic resonance imaging]] (MRI) and ultrasound are also used in RA.<ref name="McGraw Hill"/><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Takase-Minegishi K, Horita N, Kobayashi K, Yoshimi R, Kirino Y, Ohno S, Kaneko T, Nakajima H, Wakefield RJ, Emery P | title = Diagnostic test accuracy of ultrasound for synovitis in rheumatoid arthritis: systematic review and meta-analysis | journal = Rheumatology | volume = 57 | issue = 1 | pages = 49–58 | date = January 2018 | pmid = 28340066 | doi = 10.1093/rheumatology/kex036 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

Technical advances in ultrasonography like high-frequency transducers (10&nbsp;MHz or higher) have improved the spatial resolution of ultrasound images depicting 20% more erosions than conventional radiography. Color Doppler and power Doppler ultrasound are useful in assessing the degree of synovial inflammation as they can show vascular signals of active synovitis. This is important, since in the early stages of RA, the synovium is primarily affected, and synovitis seems to be the best predictive marker of future joint damage.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Schueller-Weidekamm C |date=Apr 29, 2010 |title=Modern ultrasound methods yield stronger arthritis work-up |journal=Diagnostic Imaging |volume=32 |url=http://www.diagnosticimaging.com/ultrasound/modern-ultrasound-methods-yield-stronger-arthritis-work |access-date=October 21, 2018 |archive-date=April 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409091359/https://www.diagnosticimaging.com/ultrasound/modern-ultrasound-methods-yield-stronger-arthritis-work |url-status=dead }}</ref>