Comparison of palmar tilt, radial inclination and ulnar variance in left and right wrists.

Standard radiographs of both wrists of 50 healthy volunteers were taken. The mean differences between the right and left wrists were 1. 5 degrees for radial inclination, 0.5 mm for ulnar variance and 2.5 degrees for palmar tilt. The variability of the left-right differences were compared with the variability of the whole group and were significantly less for radial inclination, ulnar variance and palmar tilt. We conclude that both wrists of one individual can be considered as symmetrical for the tested parameters and that the contralateral wrist provides a better reference than population data. Copyright 2000 The British Society for Surgery of the Hand.