Arthritis
Definition:
Inflammation of one or more joints. See also arthralgia.
Causes, incidence, and risk factors:
Joint inflammation, which causes redness, swelling, pain and sometimes loss of motion, is a body's normal reaction to damage or the presence of a foreign agent in that area. This is seen frequently when there is an injury to a joint (including fracture) or the presence of a virus or bacteria. Most of the time inflammation goes away after the injury has healed or the virus or bacteria has been wiped out by the immune system.
With some injuries and some diseases the inflammation does not go away and this is considered arthritis. Altogether there are more than 100 kinds of arthritis, and there are many different diseases that can cause it. Gout and scleroderma are two such diseases. Arthritis can also develop as a complication of another disease caused by a virus, bacteria, or fungus. Gonorrhea is one of these diseases. When this happens it is considered infectious arthritis. Autoimmune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis, are diseases in which something goes wrong with the immune system and it attacks healthy parts of the body.
Arthritis can occur in males and females of all ages. About 37 million people in America have arthritis of some kind. That is almost 1 out of every 7 people.
Some of the diseases associated with arthritis include:
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