Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease where the body's immune system attacks normal joint tissues, causing inflammation of the joint lining.
This inflammation of the joint lining (called the synovium) can cause pain, stiffness, swelling, warmth, and redness. The affected joint may also lose its shape, resulting in loss of normal movement. RA is an ongoing disease, with active periods of pain and inflammation, known as flares, alternating with periods of remission, when pain and inflammation disappear.

RA can affect many different joints. In some people, it can even affect parts of the body other than the joints, including the eyes, blood, the lungs, and the heart. Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis can be seen as follows:

-- Fatigue, an occasional fever, and a general sense of not feeling well (called malaise)

-- Pain and stiffness lasting for more than 1 hour in the morning or after a long rest

-- Symmetrical pattern of inflammation, meaning both sides of the body are usually affected at the same time

-- Joint inflammation in the joints closest to the hand, such as wrist and fingers, although the neck, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, ankles, and feet can also be affected

As RA progresses, about 25% of people with the disease develop small lumps of tissue under the skin, called rheumatoid nodules, which can vary in size. Usually, they are not painful.