Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a type of connective tissue disease that cause the inflammation of joints and nearby tissues, and may also affect some organs. When a person has rheumatoid arthritis, the body's immune system attacks the healthy tissue. Although RA can happen to a person of any age, it is more common among older adults (middle age and up). The joints that are most commonly affected include the fingers, knees, ankles, and wrists. The disease is long-term and develops slowly, beginning with stiffness, fatigue, and minor joint pain. However, as time passes, the joints may be very painful, become less flexible, and deformed. In some cases, RA can lead to complications such as damaging lung tissue, blood vessels, spinal injury from damaged neck bones, and swelling of heart muscle (myocarditis).
This illustration shows that a hand affected by rheumatoid arthritis have inflamed and irritated joints while a normal hand without rheumatoid arthritis have joints that aren't inflamed. (This picture was taken from this site: http://rheumatoid-arthritis-treatment.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/15JULY-224x3001.jpg)
Here is a link to a video that explains more about what rheumatoid arthritis is and how it can be treated: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTJNQ4FPF0w
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