Progress in the understanding of inducible models of chronic arthritis.

Definitive information regarding the etiology of most rheumatic syndromes is not available, but studies of several inducible models of chronic arthritis have helped to identify pathogenetic mechanisms in human inflammatory arthritis. Animal models offer an opportunity to analyze morphologic and biochemical changes occurring during the course of an arthritis, probe the role of genetics, and predict the effects of therapeutic interventions in the human disease. This article describes some contributions obtained from animal studies.