[Is rheumatoid arthritis a new disease? Review of the literature]

No convincing descriptions of the lesions of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can be found in the medical literature before 1800. The non-medical literature, the visual arts, and paleopathological observations have revealed finger abnormalities which have been considered suggestive of RA before 1800. However, many authorities remain unconvinced by such interpretations and it is felt, that RA may be a disease of recent origin. Recently, paleopathological observations of skeletons from 1000-3000 B.C. in the US have shown convincing bone erosions compatible with RA, and it has been suggested that RA may be an old disease in the New World, and, like syphilis, it may have been transferred to the Old World after the time of Columbus.