Relax. Take a deep breath. We have the answers you seek.
www.RightHealth.com/Rheumatology
collagen disease
| any of a group of diseases, as systemic lupus erythematosus, polyarteritis, scleroderma, and rheumatoid arthritis, involving inflammation or degeneration of connective tissue and accompanied by deposition of fibrinous material. |
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source
Main Entry: connective tissue disease
Function: noun
: any of various diseases or abnormal states (as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, polyarteritisnodosa, rheumatic fever, and dermatomyositis) characterized by inflammatory or degenerative changes in connective tissue called also collagen disease, collagenolysis, collagen vasculardisease
Cite This Source
connective tissue disease
any of the diseases that affect human connective tissue. Diseases of the connective tissue can be divided into (1) a group of relatively uncommon genetic disorders that affect the primary structure of connective tissue and (2) a number of acquired maladies in which the connective tissues are the site of several more or less distinctive immunological and inflammatory reactions. The hereditary (genetic) connective tissue diseases include Marfan syndrome, homocystinuria, and osteogenesis imperfecta. The acquired diseases include, among many others, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatic fever, and osteoarthritis. Both types of disease are described in this article.
Learn more about connective tissue disease with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Cite This Source
