The ankle is a typical synovial joint. It is affected by systemic as w
ell as locally limited synovial processes. Looking at oligo- and polya
rticular diseases it is affected by Reiter's Syndrome and Rheumatoid A
rthritis in young patients. In middle aged people Crystal Synovitides
dominate the picture and in old age Gout and tumorous lesions are seen
. Looking at monarticular inflammatory processes one has to think of t
uberculosis first. Crystal-induced monarthropathies such as hemochroma
tosis can also start at the ankle. In this review we describe the poss
ible inflammatory diseases of the talocrural joint and present a diagn
ostic algorithm.