EDITORIAL

the growth of accurate knowledge, inseparably connected with the multiplication and perfection of instruments of precision. It has drawbacks, absurdities even... A few years ago a recent graduate and ex-hospital intern asked me, apparently seriously, to give him the name of a specialist in rheumatism. We can afford to laugh at these things...” About a century later, Shattuck’s statement has not been confi rmed. Rheumatology is a very well-established branch of medical science. We, rheumatologists, are at the same time spectators and protagonists of notable advances in the fi elds of physiopathogeny, diagnosis, and treatment of several affections, mainly regarding the most emblematic disease in our specialty, rheumatoid arthritis. Therapeutic advances, however, are limited by the diagnos-tic capacity. It is only through the early and accurate diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis that its adequate treatment, which can change the natural history of the disease, can be established. In an era of rapidly evolving serologic markers and imaging tests, the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis continues to depend essentially on clinical history: careful anamnesis and physical examination should be at the basis of diagnostic suspicion and complementary test request.1 The Brazilian Society of Rheumatology, through its Rheumatoid Arthritis Committee, has summarized the gui-delines for management of rheumatoid arthritis in Brazil