Rare diseases · Sign or symptom
Rheumatoid arthritis
HP:0001370
What it means
Inflammatory changes in the synovial membranes and articular structures with widespread fibrinoid degeneration of the collagen fibers in mesenchymal tissues, as well as atrophy and rarefaction of bony structures.
In everyday care
Most people with this sign do not have a rare disease — it appears in common conditions far more often. These general reference pages cover the same topic:
Rare diseases that can present with this16
Sometimes5–29%
9- Autosomal dominant dopa-responsive dystonia
- Gamma-heavy chain disease
- IgG4-related retroperitoneal fibrosis
- Lymphoid interstitial pneumonia
- Myasthenia gravis
- Oligoarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis
- Secondary non-traumatic avascular necrosis
- Selective IgM deficiency
and 1 more in this range
The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions, and Orphanet separately records 1 disease where this sign is specifically absent. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.
Part of the broader category
Also called: RA
Tracking symptoms like this for someone? Eleplan keeps symptoms, diagnoses, medications and every specialist in one plan.
Start free with EleplanThis page uses the Human Phenotype Ontology (2026-06-23) — Human Phenotype Ontology Consortium, hpo.jax.org. Disease associations from Orphanet (INSERM), CC BY 4.0. Content is educational and is not medical advice.