Category: Aq-Ar

A medical imaging technique that allows imaging of a joint after injection of contrast material into the joint. Injection of the contrast material better allows for visualization of soft tissues around and within the joint (like tendons, cartilage, and ligaments). Arthrography may be done using X-ray imaging known as fluoroscopy, but CT scan and MRI arthrography are also performed.

A procedure in which a sterile needle and syringe are used to drain fluid from the joint. This is usually done as an office procedure or at the bedside in the hospital. For certain conditions, medication is put into the joint after fluid removal. The needle is then removed, and a bandage or dressing is…

A prefix meaning joint, as in arthropathy and arthroscopic. Before a vowel, it becomes arthr-, as in arthralgia and arthritis. From the Greek word arthron for joint. Ultimately from an Indo-European root meaning to join or to fit together.

A form of joint disease in children whose systemic signs and symptoms include high intermittent fever, a salmon-colored skin rash, swollen lymph glands, enlargement of the liver and spleen, inflammation of the lungs (pleuritis), and inflammation around the heart (pericarditis). The arthritis itself may not be immediately apparent, but in time it surfaces and may persist after the systemic symptoms are long gone. Also known…

A form of joint disease in children whose systemic signs and symptoms include high intermittent fever, a salmon-colored skin rash, swollen lymph glands, enlargement of the liver and spleen, inflammation of the lungs (pleuritis), and inflammation around the heart (pericarditis). The arthritis itself may not be immediately apparent, but in time it surfaces and may persist after the systemic symptoms are long gone. Also known…

A form of arthritis that causes chronic inflammation of the spine.

An autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation of joints. Rheumatoid disease can also involve inflammation of tissues in other areas of the body, such as the lungs, heart, and eyes. Because it can affect multiple organs of the body, rheumatoid arthritis is referred to as a systemic illness. Although rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic illness, patients may experience long periods without symptoms. Also…

The combination of inflammation of the joints (arthritis), eyes (conjunctivitis), and GU (genitourinary) &/or GI (gastrointestinal) systems.

Reiter’s syndrome is also called “reactive arthritis” since it is thought to involve the immune system which is “reacting” to the presence of bacterial infections in the genital, urinary, or gastrointestinal systems. Accordingly, certain people’s immune systems are genetically primed to react aberrantly when these areas are exposed to certain bacteria. The aberrant reaction of the immune system…

Joint inflammation that is associated with psoriasis. Psoriatic arthritis is a potentially destructive and deforming form of arthritis that affects approximately 10 percent of persons with psoriasis.