Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) DRT Practice Test

Heberden's nodes are the classic bony enlargements you feel at the distal interphalangeal joints of the fingers. They arise from degenerative changes in osteoarthritis that produce osteophytes specifically at the DIP joints. This distinguishes them from similar findings at other joints—Bouchard's nodes occur at the proximal interphalangeal joints, and involvement of the MCP joints or wrist is not where Heberden's nodes appear. So the presence of Heberden's nodes points to osteoarthritis at the distal interphalangeal joints.