Rheumatoid arthritis
Medical term · R
An inflammatory autoimmune disease that typically attacks the connective tissue of the joints, causing them to become painful, inflamed, and sometimes deformed.
Word parts
arthritis = arthr/o + -itis
Related terms
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Autoimmune diseaseA disease in which the immune system mistakenly identifies healthy tissues and organs as threats and responds by attacking and destroying them.
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Connective tissueA group of tissues in the body that provide internal support and bind other tissues in the body, including bone, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments.
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DiseaseAn abnormal condition in the body causing harm.
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TissueA group of cells that are specialized to do a certain job and are joined together to form a body structure, such as muscle or kidney.