Chondrocalcinosis

Chondrocalcinosis is calcification within cartilage, usually detected on imaging. It commonly accompanies calcium pyrophosphate crystal deposition but can have other causes.

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Calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease: A disorder in which calcium pyrophosphate crystals accumulate in joints and surrounding tissues, sometimes causing acute or chronic arthritis. The most common clinical setting for cartilage calcification is deposition of these crystals.
Radiography: Medical imaging that uses X-rays to produce pictures of internal structures. It commonly reveals cartilage calcification as linear or punctate densities.
Gout: An inflammatory arthritis caused by deposition of monosodium urate crystals in joints and tissues. Its crystal arthritis can resemble calcium pyrophosphate attacks but involves different crystals.
Acute calcium pyrophosphate crystal arthritis: An acute inflammatory joint attack caused by calcium pyrophosphate crystals, often producing pain, swelling, and warmth. Chondrocalcinosis may accompany this symptomatic form of crystal deposition.
Prevalence: The proportion of a population that has a condition at a specified time or over a defined period. Imaging-based estimates vary with age, the joints examined, and how calcification is defined.
Calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate: A crystalline form of calcium pyrophosphate found in deposits associated with chondrocalcinosis and crystal arthritis. These crystals account for many cases of the calcification seen on imaging.
Knee radiograph: An X-ray image of the knee used to assess bones, joint spaces, and surrounding structures. Meniscal calcification on a knee image is a familiar presentation.
Monosodium urate: The urate salt that forms crystals deposited in gout. Unlike calcium pyrophosphate crystals, it is strongly negatively birefringent under compensated polarized light.
Chronic calcium pyrophosphate crystal inflammatory arthritis: Persistent or recurrent inflammatory arthritis associated with calcium pyrophosphate crystals. Some people with cartilage calcification develop a chronic inflammatory joint pattern.
Asymptomatic calcium pyrophosphate deposition: Calcium pyrophosphate crystal deposition without attributable joint symptoms. Visible chondrocalcinosis may be present without causing pain or inflammation.