Q 01/05

Salts of which precious metal were injected into muscle for decades to slow the joint damage of rheumatoid arthritis?

A) Silver

B) Platinum

C) Gold

D) Palladium

Answer · why

C) Gold

Gold salts, a treatment known as chrysotherapy, fell from favor because of their side effects. In rare cases long courses leave the skin permanently s...

Q 02/05

Which French Impressionist painted through the last twenty years of his life despite severe rheumatoid arthritis?

A) Renoir

B) Monet

C) Degas

D) Pissarro

Answer · why

A) Renoir

Renoir did not paint with a brush strapped to his fingers, as legend has it. He could still grip one, though an assistant had to set it in place.

Q 03/05

Which habit, acting together with certain genes, is the best-defined environmental risk for rheumatoid arthritis?

A) Drinking coffee

B) Smoking tobacco

C) Eating red meat

D) Cracking knuckles

Answer · why

B) Smoking tobacco

Smoking tobacco raises the risk most in men, in heavy users and in people who test positive for the disease's telltale blood antibodies.

Q 04/05

Which bird names the finger deformity of rheumatoid arthritis in which one joint arches back and the tip curls down?

A) Heron

B) Crane

C) Goose

D) Swan

Answer · why

D) Swan

Swan neck deformity curls the fingertip toward the palm while the joint below it bends back. The thumb has too few joints for it, so its version is ca...

Q 05/05

During which stage of life do most women with rheumatoid arthritis find that their symptoms temporarily ease?

A) Menopause

B) Pregnancy

C) Adolescence

D) Old age

Answer · why

B) Pregnancy

Pregnancy eases symptoms for a majority of women with the disease, but the relief rarely lasts. Flares are common in the months after delivery.