Clinical Imaging Exam 1 Practice

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Facet tropism describes a difference in orientation between the left and right facet joints. Which description is correct?

Both joints in sagittal plane

One facet joint in sagittal and the other in coronal plane

Facet tropism occurs when the left and right facet joints at the same spinal level do not share the same orientation. The correct description is that one facet joint is oriented in the sagittal plane while the other is oriented in the coronal plane. This asymmetry means the joint surfaces meet the vertebrae at different angles on each side, which can influence how loads are distributed across the motion segment and may contribute to degenerative changes or instability in some cases. If both joints were oriented the same way, there would be no tropism.

Both joints in coronal plane

One facet joint in coronal and the other in sagittal plane