A Synopsis of Rheumatic Diseases

General aspects of rheumatology; biology of synovial joints and connective tissues; immunological principles of rheumatic disorders; pathology of the inflammatory reaction; laboratory investigations and imaging in rheumatic disorders; examination of the locomotor system; analgesic drugs in rheumatic disorders; anti-inflammatory drugs in rheumatic disorders; physiotherapy in rheumatic disorders; rehabilitation in chronic arthritis; classification of rheumatic disorders; the major rheumatic diseases - rheumatoid arthritis, aetiology and pathology, clinical features, complications, diagnosis and prognosis, management of rheumatoid arthritis, variants of rheumatoid arthritis, arthritis in children, ankylosing spondylitis and seronegative spondarthritis, reactive arthritis, systemic connective-tissue disorders, vasculitis, osteoarthritis (osteoarthrosis) arthritis due to metabolic and endocrine disorders; less common forms of arthritis - infective arthritis, hypersensitivity arthritis, arthritis associated with skin disorders, arthritis associated with other systemic disorders, other arthritic disorders of uncertain cause, neoplasms of synovial membrane and tendon sheaths; rheumatism due to extra-articular causes - soft-tissue (non-articular) rheumatism, rheumatism associated with bone and cartlidge disorders, hereditary connective-tissue disorders, psychogenic rheumatism; vertebral pain syndromes - cervical pain and brachial neuralgia, low back pain and sciatica, pain in the thoracic spine; limb pain syndromes - shoulder pain, elbow pain, pain and paraesthesia in the hands, pain in the hip, pain in the knee and leg, pain in the heel, foot and ankle.