The antiquity of rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Abstract The antiquity of rheumatoid arthritis, first clearly set off as an entity by Landre‐Beauvais in 1800, is of more than historic interest. If the disease is actually of relatively recent origin, an environmental cause becomes likely. It is reasonably certain that it was identified by Sydenham in 1676. But studies in human palaeopathology, while revealing unmistakable examples of ankylosing spondylitis dating back to prehistoric times, have as yet failed to provide convincing evidence of the existence of rheumatoid arthritis prior to Sydenham's description.