Ask Dr. Marks: 05/03

What is inflammatory arthritis? I thought only rheumatoid arthritis was inflammatory. There are two major families of arthritis: "wear and tear" or degenerative arthritis, and inflammatory arthritis. The prototype for degenerative arthritis is osteoarthritis. The prototype for inflammatory arthritis is rheumatoid arthritis. Although a prototype, rheumatoid arthritis is only one of a large group of conditions that causes inflammation and pain within the joint. Other forms of inflammatory arthritis are psoriatic arthritis, Reiter's syndrome and…