A 28-year-old woman is diagnosed with bone and joint tuberculosis affecting a major joint other than the hip and spine. Which joint is the third most common site of involvement in skeletal tuberculosis?

• A Shoulder joint ✓
• B Knee joint
• C Ankle joint
• D Elbow joint

Explanation

The spine (Pott's disease) and hip are the first and second most common sites of osteoarticular tuberculosis respectively. The shoulder joint is the third most common major joint involved in skeletal TB, followed by the knee, elbow, and ankle. TB shoulder often presents with cold abscess formation and significant synovial involvement. This frequency distribution is well established in standard orthopaedic texts.

Reference: Tuberculosis in Bones and Joints, 5th ed.

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Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.