Knowra Arthritis Arthritis Arthritis is inflammation or damage in one or more joints, often causing pain, stiffness, swelling, and reduced movement. It includes many conditions with different causes and treatments.
Synovial joint : A freely movable joint whose bones are enclosed by a capsule lined with synovial membrane. Most arthritis affects synovial joints, where inflammation can alter cartilage, bone, and joint fluid.
Rheumatoid arthritis : A chronic autoimmune disease in which immune activity inflames the synovium and can damage joints. It illustrates how persistent immune attack can erode joint structures.
Arthrocentesis : A procedure that withdraws fluid from a joint using a needle. Joint-fluid analysis can distinguish infection, crystals, and other inflammatory causes.
Arthralgia : Pain in a joint without necessarily indicating inflammation or structural joint disease. Joint pain alone is not enough to establish arthritis.
Synovium : The tissue lining the inner surface of many joint capsules and producing synovial fluid. Inflammation of this lining is central to rheumatoid arthritis and several other forms.
Osteoarthritis : A joint disease involving cartilage loss, bone remodeling, and changes in surrounding tissues. It shows how degeneration and repair responses can cause arthritis without a primary autoimmune attack.
Synovial fluid analysis : Laboratory examination of joint fluid for cell counts, crystals, organisms, and other features. It helps identify causes that cannot be reliably separated by symptoms alone.
Bursitis : Inflammation of a bursa, a fluid-filled sac that reduces friction near joints. Pain near a joint can arise from a bursa rather than the joint itself.
Articular cartilage : Smooth connective tissue covering the ends of bones where they meet in a joint. Cartilage breakdown is a defining structural change in osteoarthritis.
Gout : An inflammatory arthritis caused by deposition of monosodium urate crystals in joints and other tissues. Crystal-triggered inflammation can cause abrupt, intensely painful attacks.
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