Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a serious, painful, and chronic (long-lasting) disease. It is an autoimmune disease - a disease where the body's immune system attacks healthy cells. When a person has RA, their immune system attacks the joints and the tissues around the joints in the body. This causes different problems, like:
Eventually, RA can destroy a person's articular cartilage. Normally, articular (having to do with the joints) cartilage covers the end of bones where they come together to form joints. This keeps the bones from rubbing against each other. If the articular cartilage has been destroyed by RA, the bones will rub against each other, which is very painful.
No one knows what causes RA, but some theories are that it has to do with hormones, environment, infection and genes. There is no cure, but doctors have determined ways to help slow down and reduce the impact of the disease. Women are two to three times as likely as men to get rheumatoid arthritis. Most cases of RA occur in people between the ages of 25 and 55.
RA was first recognized around 1800 by Dr. Augustin Jacob Landré-Beauvais.
Symptoms.
Symptoms may include:
Often, people with RA also develop anemia, a different disease that causes a person to have not enough blood cells in the blood. 
Less often, a person with RA could have: