Advances in rheumatology.

This article reviews the major contributions to our understanding of the rheumatic diseases. These include the first definite evidence of linkage between genes controlling the immune response and the major histocompatibility complex genotype; the recognition of the types and the role of the many crystals in arthritis; the application of sophisticated immunologic techniques to the understanding of the antinuclear autoantibodies; the recognition of a new disorder--Lyme arthritis; and the contributions of joint replacement and other surgeries, and the numerous drugs and procedures now available for treatment of patients.