Surgical Treatment at the Wrist in Rheumatoid Arthritis A REvIEw OF THIRTY-SEVEN PATIENTS*

‘Strengthen the weak hands, And make firm the feeble knees, Say to those who are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not Isaiah, 35: 3-4 Rheummiatoid artimritis, a chrommic immflammmmmmatoiy disease of ummdeterrnimmed etiol-ogy and pathogemmesis, is systemmmic immmmatume arid is characterized by the mmmamimmemin which it immvolvcs joimmts . Actually, a better cimaracterizatiomm would be by the manner iii which it imivolves the symmovial mmmeiimbramme of joints, tendomis, or bursae. 1mm a carefully studied semies of paticmmts, imutial immvolvenment of joints was noted in time w’mists imm2.7 pci- cemmt amid immtime hiamids imm 14.7 per cent. In 30 per cemmt, involve-mmmemitwas uimmilatcmal immitially, but iii 95 pci- cemmt it becaimme bilateral witim persistemmce of time disease It has oftcmm bccmm said that m-imcummmatoid arthiitis burns out immtimime; this appeam-s to he tm-ue in cemtaimm nmoimocyclic cases with short dum-atiomi of activity. These patiemmts oftemm have mio pemmmlammemit defom-immity. However, if a chmomiic type o