Rheumatology, a subspecialty in internal medicine, physical therapy and rehabilitation and pediatrics, deals with diseases of soft tissues, joints and connective tissue. Rheumatology and rheumatism come from the Greek word "Rheuma". The word was first ascribed to the disease of rheumatism because of the way it seemed to spread — or flow — within a patient's body.

The disease, known as rheumatism, causes pain in the muscles, joints and ligaments that connect these muscles and joints. Rheumatic diseases, which have over 200 disease groups, can manifest themselves in very different ways depending on their type. Internal organs such as the heart, liver and kidneys can be affected unless left untreated. Along with the pain caused by rheumatism, limitation of movement in the body and sometimes even swelling and deformities occur. Physicians who specialize in the treatment of all kinds of pain, swelling or deformities caused by rheumatism are called rheumatologists.

There are many types of rheumatologic diseases that occur as inflammatory conditions in bone, muscle, joint and connective tissue and progress with pain, swelling and deformities. Some of these diseases are very common, while others are quite rare.

The most common rheumatic diseases are as follows:

• Rheumatoid Arthritis

• Osteoarthritis

• Psoriatic Arthritis

• Spondyloarthropathies

• Behcet's Disease

• Vasculitis

• Scleroderma

• Lupus

• Sjögren's Syndrome

• Mediterranean Fever Disease

Pediatric Rheumatology, which generally works as a sub-discipline of pediatrics, has been working as a separate discipline in the USA and many European countries for the last 20-25 years. In Türkiye, since 2010, with the approval of YÖK (Council of Higher Education), Pediatric Rheumatology has been established within the Department of Pediatrics.

References

1. Arthritis and Rheumatism Associates, P.C.-Explore Rheumatology, https://arapc.com/what-is-rheumatology/. [Accessed: July 2023]

2. Arthritis and Rheumatism Associates, P.C.-Explore Rheumatology, https://arapc.com/diseases-conditions/common-conditions/. [Accessed: July 2023]

3. About Arthritis and Other Rheumatic Diseases,  https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/about-arthritis-and-other-rheumatic-diseases. [Accessed: July 2023]

4. Rheumatology and Rheumatic Diseases, https://www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/an-overview-of-rheumatic-diseases. [Accessed: July 2023]

5. Sangha, O. (2000). Epidemiology of rheumatic diseases. Rheumatology, 39 (suppl_2), 3-12. [Accessed: July 2023]