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I just finished The Price of Everything: A Parable of Possibility and Prosperity and gave it 4 stars.

Ankylosing spondylitis is a connective tissue disease characterized by inflammation of the spine and large joints. The most common symptom is back pain.

Behçet's syndrome produces recurring, painful mouth sores, skin blisters, genital sores, and swollen joints.

Although polymyalgia rheumatica, which usually affects those over 50, causes severe pain and stiffness in muscles of the neck, shoulders, and hips, it does not cause weakness or damage.

Polymyositis is the inflammation and degeneration of muscles. When accompanied by skin inflammation it's dermatomyositis. Relapsing polychondritis is an uncommon disorder involving inflammation of cartilage. Vasculitis is an inflammation of blood vessels.

Almost all suffers of mixed connective tissue disease will present with an unusual antibody to ribonucleoprotein, but without the other antibodies associated with lupus.

The CREST syndrome (limited cutaneous sclerosis) is a less severe form of scleroderma. The acronym: calcium deposits in skin and body; Raynaud's; esophageal dysfunction; sclerodactyly (skin damage on fingers); and telangiectasia (spider veins).

Scleroderma (systemic sclerosis) causes degenerative changes and scarring in the skin, joints, and internal organs, as well as blood vessel abnormalities. First symptoms are usually thickening and swelling of fingertips, and Raynaud's phenomenon.

Discoid lupus erythematosus is characterized by clearly defined round, red patches on the skin, most commonly appearing on the cheeks, nose, scalp,and ears. Systemic lupus erythematosus results in episodes of inflamed joints, tendons, and other connective tissues. Lupus is highly variable in severity and organs affected.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which the joints are symmetrically inflamed, resulting in swelling, pain, and the eventual destruction of the joints' interiors.

Immune reactions are characterized by inflammation, which is a normal repair process, that abnormally becomes chronic in autoimmune diseases. Diagnosis is based on symptom patterns, physical exam findings, and lab tests.

Disorders that affect joints and their components -- muscles, bones, cartilage, tendons -- are considered connective tissue diseases. Many are also a type of autoimmune disease.

Noncancerous bone tumors are relatively common; cancerous tumors are rare. Bone pain is the most common symptom of a tumor.

Osteoporosis is a progressive decrease in the density of bones. To maintain bone density, the body requires an adequate supply of calcium and other minerals and must produce the proper amounts of several hormones, such as parathyroid, growth hormone, calcitonin, and estrogen/testosterone. Also, vitamin D is needed to absorb calcium from food.

Bone is a constantly changing tissue. The hard outer part consists largely of proteins, such as collagen, and hydroxyapatite, a substance which stores the body's calcium and provides most of the bone's strength. Marrow is in the center, blood vessels run through it, & nerves surround it. Tendons attach bones to muscles, ligaments attach bones to each other. Bursa prevent rubbing between certain structures.

SECTION 5 - BONE, JOINT, & MUSCLE DISORDERS

Lung cancer is the most common cancer in both men and women, and the most common cause of cancer-related death. Cigarette smoking is the main cause of about 90 percent of lung cancer cases in men and about 70 percent of them in women. A small proportion of lung cancers are caused by substances breathed in at work, although usually only in people who also smoke. The main symptom is most often a persistent cough.

Normally, the pressure in the pleural space is lower than inside the lungs. When air enters the space, the pressure becomes greater, and the lung partially or completely collapses. A pneumothorax is a pocket of air between the two layers of pleura. Simple spontaneous pneumothorax is usually caused when a small weakened area of lung (bulla) ruptures. It is most common in tall men under 40.

Pleurisy is an inflammation of the pleura, transparent membranes that cover the lungs and line the inside chest walls. If excess fluid accumulates between the membranes it is called pleural effusion, if not it is known as dry pleurisy. Types of fluid in the pleural space may be blood (hemothorax), pus (empyema), milky fluid caused by lymphatic blockage (chylothorax), or high-cholesterol fluid.

A lung abscess is a pus-filled cavity in the lung surrounded by inflamed tissue and caused by an infection. The usual reason an abscess forms is that bacteria from the mouth or throat are inhaled through the lungs, and for whatever reason(s) the body's natural defenses against infection are down.

Goodpasture's syndrome is a rare auto-immune disorder, primarily affecting young men, which attacks the kidneys and causes bleeding into the lungs. Without medical intervention, it inevitably causes renal failure and death. The disease progresses rapidly, and symptoms include shortness of breath, bloody or "smoky" urine, and coughing up blood.

The information on Wegener's granulomatosis seems to be somewhat out of date. It is now referred to as granulomatosis wth polyangiitis and, while they don't have perfect knowledge of the condition, it is known to be a form of vasculitis, an auto-immune disorder affecting specific antibodies, and treatments are available.

Eosinophils are a type of white blood cell (leukocyte). In eosinophilic pneumonia, also called pulmonary infiltration with eosinophilia (PIE syndrome), the lungs are flooded with these cells due to inflammation or allergic response. Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis mimics pneumonia and also increases eosinophils in the blood, but is caused by an allergy to a fungus, usually Aspergilllus fumigatus.

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (aka extrinsic allergic alveolitis, allergic interstitial pneumonitis, organic dust pneumoconiosis) is an inflammation in and around the alveoli (the tiny airsacks of the lungs) caused by an alllergic reaction to inhaled organic dusts (such as molds, sawdust, bird droppings, sugarcane waste, or coffee beans) or, rarely, chemicals.

Byssinosis is a narrowing of the airways usually caused by inhaling raw cotton particles. Susceptible individuals who work with flax and hemp may also develop the condition.

Non-mucus cells lining the bronchi contain three main types of surface receptors that respond to different substances and stimulate the underlying muscles. Beta-adrenergic receptors cause relaxation, thus widening airways.

Cholinergic receptors, when stimulated by acetylcholine, and peptidergic receptors, when stimulated by neurokinins, make the muscles contract, constricting the airways.

Bronchiectasis is an irreversible widening (dilation) of portions of the bronchi (the airways that branch off the trachea) because of damage to the bronchial wall. Atelectasis is a condition in which part of the lung becomes airless and contracts. It is usually caused by an obstruction.

Pulmonary embolism is the sudden blocking of an artery of the lung (pulmonary artery) by an embolus. An embolus is usually a blood clot (thrombus), but may also be fat, amniotic fluid, bone marrow, pieces of tumor, or an air bubble.

Disorders that cause stiff lungs or that reduce the movement of the rib cage are called restrictive disorders.
Flow rate measurements reflect the degree of narrowing or obstruction of the airways. ... This type of disorder is called an obstructive disorder.

An aneurysm is a bulge (dilation) in the wall of an artery, usually the aorta.