arthritis:

n. Medical condition affecting a joint or joints, causing pain, swelling and stiffness. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic condition that can result in weakness, loss of mobility, and eventual destruction and deformity of the joints. Osteoarthritis (also called degenerative joint disease) usually affects people after middle age and is characterized by gradual loss of cartilage of the joints. 


A rheumatism of the joints, which could be any of a variety of disorders marked by inflammation, degeneration, or metabolic derangement of the connective tissue structures of the body.


arthritis (är-thrì¹tîs), inflammation of one or more joints of the body, usually producing pain, redness, and stiffness. It disables more people than any other chronic disorder. A common form is osteoarthritis, a degenerative disease of the joints that commonly occurs with aging. Rheumatoid arthritis, an AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE of unknown cause, is a progressive, crippling joint disorder most common in women between 25 and 50. Symptomatic treatment for arthritis includes use of heat, physical therapy, and ASPIRIN or anti-inflammatory drugs such as IBUPROFEN; remission of symptoms can sometimes be achieved with gold salts, penicillamine, and short-term CORTISONE. Orthopedic surgery, including artificial joint implantation, may be done in severe cases.


The name which means "inflammation of the joint" is a misnomer since the joint is not inflamed in all types of arthritis. Arthritis is a chronic disease characterized by periods of flares and remissions. Joint destruction, loss of range of motion, deformities, chronic pain, and fatigue are among the changes that occur when a person is affected by arthritis. Over 170 types of arthritis exist.