Rheumatic disease is a major cause of morbidity and disability in the Western world. There have been major developments in our understanding of the causes of rheumatic disease and in their treatment during the last half-century, and there are relatively few papers which can be regarded as truly 'landmark' in their construction and subsequent findings. Part of the Landmark Papers in series, this book provides a detailed review of the seminal papers that have paved the way for breakthroughs in the clinical management of the entire spectrum of rheumatic diseases.

This book focuses on clinical presentation, diagnostic processes and current management of systematic vasculitis, and for this second edition the Editors have updated the treatment approach and nomenclature in line with current practice. Systemic vasculitides are a group of disorders which are of increasing importance. Many of these conditions are only rarely encountered by general physicians and often present significant diagnostic challenges. The Editors aim to provide easily accessible information in a pocket sized format. In doing so they hope to help both the generalist but also rheumatologists who only encounter these problems occasionally.