Contents: Preface. Acknowledgement. 1. Arthritis and its management/Irfan Ali Khan and Atiya Khanum. 2. Herbal Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis/T.V.V. Seetharami Reddy, S. Prasanthi and B.V.A. Ramarao Naidu. 3. Herbal treatment of Rheumatism/M. Jaish Beg, M.Z. Beg and S.J. Ali. 4. Herbal Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis/Bimal S. Desai, Rina B. Desai and Yogesh T. Jasrai. 5. Rheumatism and the role of medicinal plants/Madhavi Adhav.

"Arthritis is a term used to describe a number of painful conditions of the joints and bones. Arthritis literally means inflammation of one or more joints. Arthritis is frequently accompanied by joint pain. A joint is an area of the body where two different bones meet. A joint functions to move the body parts connected by its bones.

Osteoarthritis is a chronic condition characterized by the breakdown of the joint's cartilage. Cartilage is the part of the joint that cushions the ends of the bones and allows easy movement of joints. The breakdown of cartilage causes the bones to rub against each other, causing stiffness, pain and loss of movement in the joint. Osteoarthritis is known by many different names, including degenerative joint disease, Osteoarthrosis, hypertrophy arthritis and degenerative arthritis.

Rheumatoid Arthritis is traditionally considered a chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disorder that causes the immune system to attack the joints. It is a disabling and painful inflammatory condition, which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. RA is a systemic disease, often affecting extra-particular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and muscles."