Pathogenesis of the joint disease of rheumatoid arthritis.

The articular inflammation and joint destruction that characterizes rheumatoid arthritis is the result of a complex interaction between cellular elements--that is, inflammatory cells, immunologically competent cells, synovial lining cells--and their soluble byproducts. An understanding of these events must serve as the basis for rational treatment of the disease in the absence of knowledge about the inciting agent.