British Journal of Rheumatology 1994^3:1097-1102 EDITORIALS

RHEUMATOLOGISTS deal with a number of clinically very challenging diseases including RA, SLE, progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS), polymyositis/dermatomyos-itis (PM/DM) and Wegener's granulomatosis (WG). Much of our treatment is often aimed at pain relief, reducing various components of inflammation or down-modulating various acute inflammatory reac-tions involving connective tissue or musculoskeletal structures. After we complete our initial or even inter-val clinical patient evaluations often spending con-siderable time with the patient recording his or her chief complaints, the sequential status of various types of involvement, and the objective physical findings of disease, we naturally turn to the laboratory for help in confirming our clinical impression or initial diagnosis