Rheumatoid Arthritis is a type of chronic inflammatory disorder – it is a condition that can cause pain, swelling, redness and stiffness within the joints. In some people, the condition may damage a variety of body systems, including the skin, eyes, kidneys, nerves, lungs, heart and blood vessels.
As an autoimmune disorder, rheumatoid arthritis occurs whenever your immune system mistakenly attacks your own body’s tissues. That being said, if a specific joint is affected in one of the arms or legs, the same joint in the opposite arm or leg will probably be affected as well. This can be one way most doctors distinguish rheumatoid arthritis from other forms of arthritis, such as osteoarthritis. However, unlike the wear-and-tear damage of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis affects the lining of the joints, causing a harsh painful swelling that can then eventually result into bone erosion and joint deformity.
The inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis is what can damage other parts of the body as well. Meanwhile, new types of medications have improved some treatment options dramatically, albeit severe rheumatoid arthritis may still cause physical disabilities.
Development of even more effective remedies could be spurred by the discover of the disease’s etiology, however, the cause of rheumatoid arthritis still remains poorly understood and can involve a combination of genetic, environmental, and scholastic factors. As for the name of this illness, “rheumatoid” is taken from the Greek such as “rheuma” is the meaning that which flows, and the suffixed word “oid ” meaning like or in the form of. Finally, “arthritis” stems from “arthros,” meaning joint, also it is suggesting inflammation.