To confirm a diagnosis of arthritis mutilans and pencil-in-cup deformity, your healthcare professional will use more than one kind of imaging test, including: MRI scan sonogram ultrasound X-ray ...

Pencil-in-cup sign is sometimes called pencil-in-cup change or deformity. It’s an abnormal ... in-cup when an imaging test – usually an X-ray – shows the distinctive pattern of bone loss.

Another type of joint damage that’s sometimes seen in arthritis mutilans is known as a pencil-in-cup deformity ... unless your doctor sees it on an X-ray, and there is no way to treat it ...

It typically affects your fingers and toes, deforming and curling them in a condition called s, or pencil-in-cup deformity. Read on to learn more about this condition including its causes ...