Atlas Of Rheumatology

Arthritis and its related musculoskeletal disorders constitute the most common chronic illnesses in the United States. These conditions adversely affect the quality of life of those who are struck by them, require increased use of health care resources, and, because they are the leading cause of disability in the United States, have a significant impact on the national economy. Physicians and other health care workers in many disciplines have been involved in the care and study of patients with these diseases. As a result, our understanding of and ability to treat these diseases have improved continuously. This Atlas of Rheumatology is designed to help clinicians learn about this group of diseases and develop an understanding of their possible causes, clinical features, laboratory findings, and treatments, using an attractive pictorial format. Because more than 100 sepa rate types of arthritis have been described, unfortunately all could not be included. The illus trations shown in the Atlas have been carefully selected by recognized experts, who served as authors of the eight chapters, to provide the reader with the essential information needed to get a clear picture of these important diseases. For their successful efforts I am deeply grateful. I am also indebted to editorial workers who have maintained high standards to create a clear, attractive final product.

Atlas of Rheumatoid Arthritis is a high-quality educational initiative, written by leaders in the field of rheumatology, containing a collection of approximately 150 relevant images, with extended descriptive captions and a comprehensive bibliography. The Atlas of Rheumatoid Arthritis will provide clinicians with a visual guide to rheumatoid arthritis, focusing on assessment, diagnosis and treatment, including newer research into the signalling pathways involved in the pathogenesis of RA, before focusing on the treatment of RA. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common and most serious of the inflammatory arthritic disorders, and it dominates clinical rheumatological practice. Effective, early treatment is vital as this can slow the course of the disease and reduce joint damage. RA is usually treated using disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), most commonly methotrexate. The newest treatments target the disease-causing immune elements specifically and directly.

Patients with rheumatic diseases frequently exhibit a multiplicity of clinical and radiographic signs. The ability to correctly interpret these clues to diagnosis is an invaluable clinical skill, and an essential component of diagnostic decision making. This book is designed as a pictorial guide to clinical rheumatology and illustrates the principal clinical and radiographic signs of many musculoskeletal disorders. It is intended to supplement the more factual types of information found in standard textbooks and to provide the reader with a visual experience equivalent to that of several years in clinical practice. The two initial chapters on history and physical examination are incorporated to provide a construct within which the relevance of subsequent sections can be viewed. The disease-oriented chapters which form the majority of the text illustrate many of the more complex problems encountered in routine rheumatologic practice. Descriptions of several rare and unusual conditions, of particular clinical importance, have been included in the final chapter. It is the author's hope that this atlas will appeal to family practitioners, trainees in both rheumatology and general medicine, and senior medical students, as well as serve as a teaching resource for the general physician and specialty rheumatologist. Whether read chapter by chapter or used purely as a reference text it is intended to be kept on hand both in the clinic and on the ward.

Patients with rheumatic diseases frequently exhibit a multiplicity of clinical and radiographic signs. The ability to correctly interpret these clues to diagnosis is an invaluable clinical skill, and an essential component of diagnostic decision making. This book is designed as a pictorial guide to clinical rheumatology and illustrates the principal clinical and radiographic signs of many musculoskeletal disorders. It is intended to supplement the more factual types of information found in standard textbooks and to provide the reader with a visual experience equivalent to that of several years in clinical practice. The two initial chapters on history and physical examination are incorporated to provide a construct within which the relevance of subsequent sections can be viewed. The disease-oriented chapters which form the majority of the text illustrate many of the more complex problems encountered in routine rheumatologic practice. Descriptions of several rare and unusual conditions, of particular clinical importance, have been included in the final chapter. It is the author's hope that this atlas will appeal to family practitioners, trainees in both rheumatology and general medicine, and senior medical students, as well as serve as a teaching resource for the general physician and specialty rheumatologist. Whether read chapter by chapter or used purely as a reference text it is intended to be kept on hand both in the clinic and on the ward.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a form of arthritic joint disease associated with the chronic skin scaling and fingernail changes seen in psoriasis. Patients with PsA have a reduced quality of life. This comprehensive visual reference contains over 150 images from a wide gamut of variations of the disease, as well as charts and tables detailing the most up-to-date information on patient susceptibility, incidence, and symptoms.