- arthritis
- Inflammation of a joint or a state characterized by inflammation of joints. SYN: articular rheumatism. [G. fr. arthron, joint, + -itis, inflammation]- a. deformans SYN: rheumatoid a..- degenerative a. SYN: osteoarthritis.- enteropathic a. a form of a. sometimes resembling rheumatoid a. which may complicate the course of ulcerative colitis, Crohn disease, or other intestinal disease.- filarial a. a. occurring in filariasis, probably due to extravasation of lipid-rich lymph resembling chyle into the joint space.- gonococcal a. joint space infection in humans caused by disseminated Neisseria gonorrhoeae; characteristically monarticular, but may be polyarticular. SYN: gonorrheal a..- gonorrheal a. SYN: gonococcal a..- hypertrophic a. variant of osteoarthritis characterized by afferent periarticular osteophyte formation.- Jaccoud a. a rare form of chronic a., reported to occur after attacks of acute rheumatic fever, characterized by an unusual form of bone erosion of the metacarpal heads and by ulnar deviation of the fingers; it resembles rheumatoid a., but with less overt inflammation, and rheumatoid factor is absent. SYN: Jaccoud arthropathy.- juvenile a., juvenile rheumatoid a. chronic a. beginning in childhood, most cases of which are pauciarticular, i.e., affecting few joints. Several patterns of illness have been identified: in one subset, primarily affecting girls, iritis is common and antinuclear antibody is usually present; another subset, primarily affecting boys, frequently includes spinal a. resembling ankylosing spondylitis; some cases are true rheumatoid a. beginning in childhood and characterized by the presence of rheumatoid factor and destructive deforming joint changes, often undergoing remission at puberty. SEE ALSO: Still disease. SYN: juvenile chronic a..- a. mutilans a form of chronic rheumatoid a. in which osteolysis occurs with extensive destruction of the joint cartilages and bony surfaces with pronounced deformities, chiefly of the hands and feet; similar changes occur in some cases of psoriatic a.. SYN: chronic absorptive a..- neuropathic a. a. associated with an underlying neurologic disorder, e.g., syringomyelia, tabes dorsalis, diabetes mellitus.- a. nodosa obsolete term for rheumatoid a..- proliferative a. term for rheumatoid a., based on the characteristic proliferation of the synovial membrane seen in joints affected by the disease.- psoriatic a. the concurrence of psoriasis and polyarthritis, resembling rheumatoid a. but thought to be a specific disease entity, seronegative for rheumatoid factor and often involving the digits. SEE ALSO: a. mutilans. SYN: arthropathia psoriatica.- pyogenic a. SYN: suppurative a..- rheumatoid a. a generalized disease, occurring more often in women, which primarily affects connective tissue; a. is the dominant clinical manifestation, involving many joints, especially those of the hands and feet, accompanied by thickening of articular soft tissue, with extension of synovial tissue over articular cartilages, which become eroded; the course is variable but often is chronic and progressive, leading to deformities and disability. SYN: a. deformans, nodose rheumatism (1).- septic a. SYN: suppurative a..- suppurative a. acute inflammation of synovial membranes, with purulent effusion into a joint, due to bacterial infection; the usual route of infection is hemic to the synovial tissue, causing destruction of the articular cartilage, and may become chronic, with sinus formation, osteomyelitis, deformity, and disability. SYN: purulent synovitis, pyarthrosis, pyogenic a., septic a., suppurative synovitis.
* * *
ar·thri·tis är-'thrīt-əs n, pl -thrit·i·des -'thrit-ə-.dēz inflammation of joints due to infectious, metabolic, or constitutional causes also a specific arthritic condition (as gouty arthritis or psoriatic arthritis)* * *
n.inflammation of one or more joints, characterized by swelling, warmth, redness of the overlying skin, pain, and restriction of motion. Over 200 diseases may cause arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout, tuberculosis, and other infections. Diagnosis is assisted by examination of the pattern of distribution of affected joints, X-rays, blood tests, and examination of synovial fluid obtained by aspiration of a swollen joint. Mono- or oligoarthritis is inflammation of one joint, pauciarthritis of a few (four or less), and polyarthritis of many joints, either simultaneously or in sequence. Any disease involving the synovial membranes or causing degeneration of cartilage may cause arthritis. Treatment of arthritis depends on the cause, but aspirin and similar analgesics are often used to suppress inflammation, and hence reduce pain and swelling. See also juvenile chronic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, septic arthritis, haemarthrosis, pyarthrosis, hydrarthrosis.• arthritic adj.* * *
ar·thri·tis (ahr-thriґtis) pl. arthriґtides [arthr- + -itis] inflammation of a joint; see also rheumatism.
Medical dictionary. 2011.
