Etymed
arthritis
Definition
Inflammation of a joint
Clinical context
A 35-year-old woman presents with painful swelling in her hands and knees that has been worsening over the past 3 weeks. She reports stiffness in her joints, especially in the morning lasting more than 30 minutes. On examination, her joints are warm, tender, and swollen with limited range of motion. A thorough workup reveals elevated inflammatory markers and autoantibodies. The patient is diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune condition characterized by chronic inflammation of multiple joints.
Mnemonic
A-R-T-I-S: Arthritis, Rheumatoid, Tenosynovitis, Inflammatory, Swelling