Rheumatic disease is a major cause of morbidity and disability in the Western world. There have been major developments in our understanding of the causes of rheumatic disease and in their treatment during the last half-century, and there are relatively few papers which can be regarded as truly ‘landmark’ in their construction and subsequent findings.

Part of the Landmark Papers in series, this book provides a detailed review of the seminal papers that have paved the way for breakthroughs in the clinical management of the entire spectrum of rheumatic diseases.