Clinical examination of the hand

Clinical examination of the hand requires a structured approach allowing the clinician the formulate an appropriate differential diagnosis for the purposes of further investigation and timely diagnosis and management. Eliciting a careful history and subsequently employing the examination principles of inspection, palpation, and movement, followed by targeted special tests, are key to assessing the various pathologies affecting the hand. This article discusses the key elements of history-taking and examination structure when assessing hand pathology, and reviews in detail the special tests involved in common pathology seen in the hand, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, cubital tunnel syndrome, Dupuytren's disease, and de Quervain's tenosynovitis.