Identification of all small joints the affection of which is interrelated and the study of such joints grouping in polyarthritis clinical picture variants.
Upon examination of 102 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) we assessed articular pain, erosion of bones in small joints by x-ray picture of the feet and hands, estimated correlations between the pain and erosion in each joint and compared distribution of small joint erosions with distribution of pain in these joints.
The groups of small joints of the bones and feet have been compiled in which RA pain or erosions were independent of the condition of the joints from the other groups.
RA patients' distribution by joint lesions reflects latent mechanisms of RA development operating separately within various groups of small joints.