Rheumatology: A Color Handbook PDF

PREFACE

Arthritis and its allied conditions are among the most common causes of treatable disability worldwide. In developed countries, it is estimated that approx - imately one in three adults suffer from arthritis. The burden posed by rheumatic illness is formidable, not only in financial terms but perhaps more importantly in terms of the detrimental impact that these conditions exert on vitality and quality of life.

Rheumatology is the subspecialty of internal medicine and pediatrics perhaps most often charged with the diagnosis and treatment of conditions affecting the musculoskeletal system. Although musculoskeletal manifestations are common to many rheumatic conditions, these diseases are frequently characterized by multisystem involvement. To under stand lupus or systemic vasculitis, or to understand the patient presenting with a complex connective tissue disease – is to understand medicine itself. The inherent complexity of rheumatic disease, coupled with rapidly evolving advances in care, mandates a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach to both diagnosis and management.

The aim of this textbook is to provide both a comprehensive and concise introduction to rheumatic illness. The contents of this textbook are structured in order to familiarize general practi - tioners, medicine trainees, and other ancillary healthcare personnel involved in the care of patients with rheumatic disease, with the major tenets of disease epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management in rheumatology.