Needless to say, I was delighted to hear of the recent demise of the word rheumatism. For those of you who may be unaware, our lead journal, A&R, is now referred to as Arthritis & Rheumatology. I wish I could say that the word lived beyond its usefulness, but I doubt that it ever served any useful purpose. Rheumatology has replaced rheumatism. Hallelujah! Are we making progress? I need to ruminate on this development for a while.
Dr. Helfgott is physician editor of The Rheumatologist and associate professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology, immunology, and allergy at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
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