Arthritis of rats and mice: implications for man.

Numerous attempts to implicate mycoplasmas in rheumatoid arthritis of man have resulted in complete failures or inconsistent results. The striking similarity of rheumatoid arthritis to a number of chronic mycoplasmal arthritides in animals, and new information on the pathophysiology of mycoplasmas and their complex interplay with the immunological apparatus of the host, suggest that the search for mycoplasmas in human disease should not be abandoned. Furthermore, increasing knowledge of mycoplasmal arthritis in animals emphasizes possible serious deficiencies of past studies in man.