Because I believe in the value of education, (and I feel guilty for not posting in awhile because I've been busy studying), I thought I'd combine the two and start a new weekly tradition where I talk about a disease or disorder. This week, it's arthritis.
As most of you probably know, arthritis is a disease of the joints that is characterized by pain, stiffness, and swelling. Arthritis is the leading cause of physical disability for adults over the age of 65.
There are two types of arthritis that I'm going to discuss.
(Because I only have to know two for my exam Tuesday)
1. Osteoarthritis
This arthritis is due to cartilage in the joint that is continually lost. This could be due to the "wear and tear" of everyday life, muscle weakness, obesity, aging, or joint irritations. It's the most common and that's why you probably all know someone that suffers from this! It's a huge reason as to why so many people need knee-replacement surgeries (usually).
Basic information is that most of your bones that form joints are covered with cartilage so that they can connect and not destroy the bone when they rub against each other. This is best seen in the knee, because it is very visible and clear.
As you can see in the picture above, the cartilage is first "thinned" and then it eventually is destroyed, which is shown below, on the "knee joint."
("tibiafemoral joint" if you are taking the anatomy exam)
2. Rheumatoid Arthritis
This type of arthritis is different from osteoarthritis because it is present when your body's immune system attacks itself and your own tissues! If you have rheumatoid arthritis, your body is attacking your cartilage and joint linings. This gives off the same symptoms as osteoarthritis as far as pain, swelling, and stiffness goes.
Fun fact about rheumatoid arthritis is that it usually affects your body bilaterally, for instance if it attacks your left elbow, usually your right elbow is affected too.
If you don't treat the symptoms, the fluid in your joint, and the membrane that lines the joint, will thicken and accumulate. This pressure causes pain, and the membrane of the joint creates a tissue that will attach to the cartilage and can destroy it completely sometimes.
It doesn't stop there. Once the cartilage is destroyed, tissue will attach your bone ends and it will OSSIFY! (ossify - turn into bone or bony tissue) AKA Your joint will be immovable. In the hands it gives them a "gnarled" look.
You don't really "treat" it, but you can treat the symptoms of Rheumatoid arthritis. Like the pain and the swelling.
I couldn't find a great diagram describing the entire process I described for rheumatoid arthritis, but this is a diagram that compares the two to a healthy tibafemoral joint .
**All the information was obtained from my teacher and my Anatomy textbooks.
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