Arthritis

Not to be confused with Arteritis.

Arthritis
Hands affected by rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune form of arthritis

Arthritis (from Greek arthro-, joint + -itis, inflammation; plural: arthritides) is a form of joint disorder that involvesinflammation of one or more joints.^[1][2] There are over 100 different forms of arthritis.^[3][4] The most common form of arthritis is osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease), a result of trauma to the joint, infection of the joint, or age. Other arthritis forms are rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and related autoimmune diseases. Septic arthritis is caused by joint infection.

The major complaint by individuals who have arthritis is joint pain. Pain is often a constant and may be localized to the joint affected. The pain from arthritis is due to inflammation that occurs around the joint, damage to the joint from disease, daily wear and tear of joint, muscle strains caused by forceful movements against stiff painful joints and fatigue.

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Classification[edit]

There are several diseases where joint pain is primary, and is considered the main feature. Generally when a person has "arthritis" it means that they have one of these diseases, which include:

• Osteoarthritis
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Gout and pseudo-gout
• Septic arthritis
• Ankylosing spondylitis
• Juvenile idiopathic arthritis
• Still's disease

Joint pain can also be a symptom of other diseases. In this case, the arthritis is considered to be secondary to the main disease; these include:

• Psoriasis (Psoriatic arthritis)
• Reactive arthritis
• Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
• Haemochromatosis
• Hepatitis
• Lyme disease
• Sjogren's disease
• Hashimoto's Thyroiditis
• Inflammatory bowel disease (including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis)
• Henoch-Schönlein purpura
• Hyperimmunoglobulinemia D with recurrent fever
• Sarcoidosis
• Whipple's disease
• TNF receptor associated periodic syndrome
• Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (and many other vasculitis syndromes)
• Familial Mediterranean fever
• Systemic lupus erythematosus

An undifferentiated arthritis is an arthritis that does not fit into well-known clinical disease categories, possibly being an early stage of a definite rheumatic disease.^[5]