Thermography of the hand and wrist: practical applications.

Thermography is a noninvasive imaging technique that visualizes extremely small but significant cutaneous sensory segment temperature alterations, which reflect physiologic changes not depicted by static techniques including CT and MR imaging. The equipment in current use, techniques of upper extremity examination, criteria for interpretation, a classic body of thermographic patterns associated with sympathetic nerve dysfunction, and theories relating to their mechanisms have been summarized. The particular contributions of thermography in diagnosing and corroborating acute, recurrent, and chronic clinical symptoms related to the hand and wrist have been illustrated and discussed.