Isolated injury to the distal radioulnar joint. Case report and cadaver study.

Injury to the distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) is well recognised in association with fractures of the distal radius and ulna. Damage to the articular disc or, more correctly, the triangular fibrocartilage complex of the joint, occurring at the time of injury, is now well recognised as a major cause of persistent symptoms following Colles' fracture.' Isolated injury to the distal radioulnar articulation is much less common. It is frequently misdiagnosed and often treated inappropriately, resulting in prolonged disability.2 Anterior subluxation of the distal end of the ulna was first described in the English literature by Sir Astley Cooper in 1822 when he reported its presence in a woman who had sustained a supination injury in a riot. He noted the ulna to be unduly prominent at the front of the wrist. Reduction was extremely difficult and was only achieved at the fourth attempt by forceful pronation of the forearm using two assistants and countertraction from a wall! Since then occasional articles and