MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Rheumatoid arthritis

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Rheumatoid arthritis

The affect of rheumatoid arthritis can progress to the degree that it is crippling. Deformities distinctive to late-stage rheumatoid arthritis such as ulnar deviation of the bones of the hands, or swan-neck deviation of the fingers occur because muscles and tendons on one side of the joint may overpower those on the other side, pulling the bones out of alignment.

Update Date: 7/27/2007

Updated by: Steve Lee, DO, Rheumatology Fellow, Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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