Rheumatoid Arthritis in Children

CHRONIC arthritis in children was first described not by Still but by Cornile 1 in 1864. In his classic thesis of 1897 Still 2 drew attention to the fact that in a series of 22 cases of chronic arthritis in children the disease occurred in 12 before the second dentition and was accompanied with changes in the viscera, generalized glandular adenopathy and multiple signs of systemic reaction. It is usually asserted that Still's disease is the less commonly occurring childhood manifestation of that disease or group of diseases which in adults is described as rheumatoid or atrophic arthritis. Still's observations have been confirmed by many observers, including Gibney 3 in 1912, Johannsen 4 in 1923 and Genthon in 1937. 5 Assuming for the present that Still's disease and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis are synonymous terms, one is struck by the failure of these contributors to convey more than an incomplete survey