Diagnosis of rheumatic disease. 2. Laboratory tests.

Part 1, which begins on page 64, discusses diagnosis of rheumatic disease by radiography. The most popular laboratory tests in rheumatic disease are nonspecific and include those based on the formation of autoantibodies. Rheumatoid factor assays actually are of little diagnostic help in rheumatoid arthritis, but antinuclear antibody tests have become mandatory for identification of systemic lupus erythematosus. Studies based on immune complexes and cell immunity are valuable in specific clinical situations.