Rheumatology

Rheumatology is the medical specialty focused on diseases of joints, muscles, bones, and connective tissue, especially autoimmune and inflammatory disorders.

Autoimmunity: Autoimmunity is an immune response directed against the body's own cells or tissues. Many rheumatic diseases arise when immune defenses mistakenly target joints or connective tissue.
Rheumatoid arthritis: Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes inflammatory joint damage and can affect other organs. It is a defining inflammatory arthritis managed by rheumatologists.
Arthrocentesis: Arthrocentesis is the procedure of removing fluid from a joint with a needle. Joint-fluid analysis helps identify infection, crystals, and inflammatory arthritis.
Archibald Garrod: Archibald Garrod was a British physician who helped establish the modern study of rheumatic diseases. His early clinical work helped distinguish and classify chronic joint disorders.
Orthopedic surgery: Orthopedic surgery treats disorders of the musculoskeletal system through operative and nonoperative care. It often addresses structural damage, while rheumatology focuses on systemic and inflammatory causes.
Inflammation: Inflammation is the tissue response to injury, infection, or harmful stimuli, involving immune cells and signaling molecules. Persistent inflammation drives pain and tissue damage in many conditions rheumatologists treat.
Systemic lupus erythematosus: Systemic lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disease that can inflame and damage multiple organ systems. Its varied manifestations illustrate rheumatology's care of systemic autoimmune disease.
Rheumatoid factor: Rheumatoid factor is an autoantibody directed against the Fc portion of immunoglobulin G. Its presence can support rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis but is not specific to it.
Alfred Baring Garrod: Alfred Baring Garrod was a British physician who identified uric acid's role in gout. His work linked a specific biochemical process to a rheumatic disease.
Physical medicine and rehabilitation: Physical medicine and rehabilitation is the specialty focused on restoring function and reducing disability through nonsurgical care. It emphasizes functional recovery, whereas rheumatology diagnoses and treats underlying rheumatic disease.

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