Knowra Polyarthritis Polyarthritis Polyarthritis is inflammation affecting five or more joints. It can result from autoimmune disease, infection, crystal deposition, or other systemic conditions.
Synovitis : Inflammation of the synovial membrane lining a joint, often causing swelling, warmth, and pain. Synovial inflammation is a common tissue-level feature of polyarthritis.
Arthritis : Inflammation or disease of one or more joints, commonly causing pain, stiffness, or swelling. Polyarthritis is a joint-count pattern within the broader category of arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis : A chronic autoimmune disease that primarily causes inflammatory arthritis, often in a symmetric pattern. It is a common persistent cause of polyarthritis and can damage joints without treatment.
Rheumatoid factor : An autoantibody found in many people with rheumatoid arthritis and in some other conditions or healthy individuals. A positive result can support one diagnosis but is not specific enough to settle the cause.
Osteoarthritis : A joint disorder involving cartilage loss and changes in underlying bone, often causing activity-related pain. It can affect several joints but usually reflects degenerative joint disease rather than systemic inflammation.
Joint effusion : An abnormal accumulation of fluid within a joint. Effusions can accompany inflammatory arthritis and reveal which joints are actively affected.
Oligoarthritis : Inflammatory arthritis affecting two to four joints. Its smaller joint count contrasts with the five-or-more-joint definition of polyarthritis.
Systemic lupus erythematosus : A systemic autoimmune disease that can affect joints, skin, kidneys, blood, and other organs. Its joint inflammation may occur alongside clues from other organ systems.
Anti-citrullinated protein antibody : An autoantibody strongly associated with rheumatoid arthritis and useful in its diagnosis and prognosis. It can sharpen assessment when rheumatoid arthritis is one possibility among several.
Fibromyalgia : A chronic pain condition marked by widespread pain, fatigue, and sleep or cognitive symptoms. Widespread pain can resemble multi-joint disease despite the absence of joint inflammation.
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