Rheumatology is the medical discipline that deals with rheumatic inflammatory diseases and other diseases of the muscoskeletal system. Rheumatism is the broad term for conditions that cause pain and limited motion as well as swelling and deformity in components of the locomotor system – muscles, bones, joints and ligaments.
There is no single type of rheumatic disease; approximately 200 disorders are included in this group. Rheumatoid diseases are manifested by many complaints depending on the actual disease. Rheumatic diseases involve visceral organs, such as HEART, LUNG and KIDNEY, along with the joints. It may also influence the skin and the eyes. Therefore, those complains are not limited to joints.
COMMON RHEUMATIC DISEASES
Rheumatoid arthritis
Degenerative Diseases: Osteoarthritis
Connective tissues diseases: Systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren's Syndrome, Scleroderma, Mixed connective tissue disease, Dermatomyositis, Plymyositis, Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease, Anti-phospholipid Syndrome
Spondyloarthropathies: Ankylosing Spondylitis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Reactive Arthritis, Undifferentiated Spondyloarthropathies
Behçet's Disease
Familial Mediterranean Fever
Polymyalgia Rheumatica
Acute rheumatic fever
Crystal arthritis: Gout, Pseudo-gout (Chondrocalcinosis)
Metabolic Diseases: Osteoporosis, Osteomalacia, Paget's Disease
Vascular inflammations: Takayasu Arteritis, Polyarteritis Nodosa, Microscopic Polyangitis, Churg Strauss, Wegener's Granulomatosis, Giant Cell (Temporal) Arteritis, Other Systemic Vasculitis
Amyloidosis
Infectious arthritis
Rheumatic Signs Manifested in Systemic Disease
