Rheuma is derived from the Greek term indicating “a substance which flows”, a humor that orginates in the brain and causes various ailments. Guillaume Baillou claimed that “what arthritis is in a joint is what rheumatism is in the whole body”, raising the idea that arthritis is but one manifestation of systemic process. In 1940, Bernard Comroe coined the term rheumatologist, and in 1949 , Hollander used the term rheumatology in his textbook Arthritis and Allied Conditions.

Apart from arthritis, the spectrum of rheumatological disorders include gout, systemic lupus erythematosus, myositis, scleroderma, vasculitis etc. Even common diseases such as diabetes can have rheumatological manifestations.

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