rheumatoid arthritis

noun

Definition of rheumatoid arthritis

: a usually chronic autoimmune disease that is characterized especially by pain, stiffness, inflammation, swelling, and sometimes destruction of joints — compare osteoarthritis

Examples of rheumatoid arthritis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That includes causes beyond infections, like rheumatoid arthritis. — Nina Bahadur, SELF, "11 Potential Causes of Those Night Sweats That Leave You Drenched," 30 June 2018 And on top of that, needle fatigue is a problem for patients who take drugs for chronic conditions like multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. — Mike Feibus, USA TODAY, "Afraid of needles? These start-ups are working on alternatives," 8 July 2018 The implants were approved in 2005 for treating depression and are being studied as a potential therapy for rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis and other chronic conditions. — Tim Hornyak, Scientific American, "Could Future Nerve Implants Detect and Monitor Illness?," 10 May 2018 Basically anything that can give you a fever, including autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritisNotice a pattern with tuberculosis, brucellosis, and HIV/AIDS? — Nina Bahadur, SELF, "11 Potential Causes of Those Night Sweats That Leave You Drenched," 30 June 2018 The cost of one rheumatoid arthritis medication soared from $6 per pill in 2011 to $135 in 2015. — NBC News, "Medicare spending on name-brand drugs rose by 77 percent over five years, even as usage fell," 5 June 2018 Methotrexate, in addition to its key role in treating leukemia, is incorporated in treatment protocols for everything from sarcoma to certain lymphomas to autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. — Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, "We Are Scientists," 5 June 2018 The amount of rebates can vary widely, with some drugs, like Humira and Enbrel that treat rheumatoid arthritis, being deeply discounted. — Reed Abelson, New York Times, "UnitedHealthcare Says It Will Pass On Rebates From Drug Companies to Consumers," 6 Mar. 2018 Cryotherapy, in particular, has been used in Japan to treat rheumatoid arthritis since the 1970s. — Jacqueline Detwiler, Popular Mechanics, "I Hacked My Body So You Don't Have To," 25 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rheumatoid arthritis.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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25 Sep 2018

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The first known use of rheumatoid arthritis was in 1859

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More Definitions for rheumatoid arthritis

rheumatoid arthritis

noun

English Language Learners Definition of rheumatoid arthritis

medical : a serious disease that continues to become worse over a long period of time and that causes the joints to become very painful, stiff, and swollen

See the full definition for rheumatoid arthritis in the English Language Learners Dictionary

rheumatoid arthritis

noun

Medical Definition of rheumatoid arthritis

: a usually chronic disease that is considered an autoimmune disease and is characterized especially by pain, stiffness, inflammation, swelling, and sometimes destruction of joints —abbreviation RA

— called also atrophic arthritis

— compare osteoarthritis