Rheumatoid arthritis rheumatoid arthritis can cause pain swelling and deformity as the tissue that lines your joints synovial membrane becomes inflamed and thickened fluid builds up and joints erode and degrade rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disorder that can affect more than just your joints in some people the condition can damage a wide variety of body systems . Last version rheumatoid arthritis 1e uploaded by clive cussler rheumatoid arthritis as the tissue that lines your joints synovial membrane becomes inflamed and thickened fluid builds up and joints erode and degrade in some people the condition can damage a wide variety of body systems including the skin eyes lungs heart and blood vessels rheumatoid arthritis is a condition that can cause pain . Rheumatoid arthritis can be difficult to diagnose in its early stages because the early signs and symptoms mimic those of many other diseases there is no one blood test or physical finding to confirm the diagnosis during the physical exam your doctor will check your joints for swelling redness and warmth. Rheumatoid arthritis ra is an inflammatory disease that can affect multiple joints in the body ra is an autoimmune disease where the bodys immune system which normally functions to protect us against infections mistakenly attacks the lining of the joints