[Polymyalgia arteriitica]

A description of the polymyalgia arteriitica is presented: preference of beginning in higher age, leading symptom being muscular pain at the back of the neck, around the shoulders, the upper arms, the buttocks and thighs as well as the visibly augmented erythrocyte sedimentation rate. The arteriitic manifestation being considered, the necessity of adequate corticosteroid therapy is accentuated. Prognosis depends on both factors, localization of the arteriitis and efficient corticosteroid treatment.