Rheumatology > What Is Rheumatology

What is rheumatology?

	Rheumatologists treat a variety of diseases and disorders.

Rheumatology includes disorders and conditions that affect joints, muscles, soft tissues and bones. Some common disorders are rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, osteoarthritis, gout, bursitis, osteoporosis, vasculitis, juvenile forms of arthritis, lyme disease and other forms of arthritis.

Rheumatologists treat disorders of blood vessels (vasculitis, including temporal arteritis) and other organs, and many systemic rheumatic diseases caused by abnormalities of the immune system. Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Sjogren’s syndrome, many vasculitic diseases, juvenile forms of arthritis and other diseases may be due to immune-related abnormalities.

Other rheumatic diseases are due to infections of joints (such as lyme disease, tuberculosis or bacterial and viral infections that travel from the bloodstream to the joints), substances that cause crystals to form in joints (gout) and “wear and tear” forces (osteoarthritis).