Medical Transcription

Rheumatoid arthritis is a debilitating and painful illness.  Because it affects the body joints, it can have a severe impact on the person’s quality of life.  While doctors are not sure exactly what causes rheumatoid arthritis, they do know it is an autoimmune disease.  Autoimmune disease occurs when the body’s immune system malfunctions, made up of organs, specialized cells, and antibodies.  The immune system acts as a body’s defense.  When a foreign substance such as a virus or bacteria invades the body, the immune system response by bringing in its defenses and eliminating the intruder.  But in people with autoimmune disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system turns on itself, for reasons doctors don’t completely understand.  When this occurs, otherwise, healthy parts of the body come under attack.  In cases of rheumatoid arthritis, the faulty immune system targets the tissue another material that makes up our joints...