Imaging of wrist masses.

The wrist is a complex structure with an extensive differential diagnosis for a presenting mass. However, the vast majority of hand and wrist masses are benign, and many of these have a distinctive radiographic appearance. In this article, the imaging characteristics of the most common entities are reviewed with particular attention to magnetic resonance appearance. The 3 most common hand and wrist lesions include ganglion cysts, giant cell tumors of the tendon sheath, and hemangiomas. Other common lesions that can be diagnosed radiographically include lipomas, neural sheath tumors, infection and inflammation, and variant soft-tissue or bony structures. The appearance of the fibrolipomatous hamartoma will also be demonstrated because this is a radiographically distinctive, though rare, lesion.