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Information about Polychondritis


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DiseasesDB10248
eMedicinemed/2000  derm/375


Polychondritis is an auto-immune disease in which the human's body's immune system begins to attack and destroy the cartilage tissues in the body.

All cartilage areas can be affected, though in many cases the disease will affect several areas where cartilage is found in the body, and leave others entirely alone. Parts of the body with cartilage, and therefore potentially affected by polychondritis, include the ears, nose, throat, heart valves and of course all areas where musculo-skeletal tissues are connected by cartilage. Specific resultant conditions may include Type 3 Tracheomalacia and Vasculitis.

Reasons for disease onset are not known. Treatment plans typically involve suppression of the immune system with medicines, which often result in a side effect of increasing the risk of other infections.

While the disease can come on at various times, most frequent time for onset is in the late 40's to early 50's. Some literature reports a slightly higher occurrence in females than males, while other literature asserts that sex is apparently not a statistically significant factor in the occurrence rate of the disease. Polychondritis is one of many subclasses of disease in the area of Rheumatology.

Polychondritis is classified in Chapter 13 of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems: . It is also known as Relapsing polychondritis, Chronic atrophic polychondritis, Meyenburg-Altherr-Uehlinger syndrome, von Meyenburg's disease, Generalized chondromalacia, or Systemic chondromalacia.

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MeSH D001327 Autoimmunity is the failure of an organism to recognize its own constituent parts (down to the sub-molecular levels) as "self", which results in an immune response against its own cells and tissues.
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disease is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions. In human beings, "disease" is often used more broadly to refer to any condition that causes discomfort, dysfunction, distress, social problems, and/or death to the person afflicted, or similar problems
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immune system is a collection of mechanisms within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumor cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own healthy
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Cartilage is a type of dense connective tissue. It is composed of collagen fibers and/or elastin fibers, and can supply smooth surfaces for the movement of articulating bones.
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outer ear is the most external portion of the ear. The outer ear includes the pinnae (also called auricle), the ear canal, and the very most superficial layer of the ear drum (also called the tympanic membrane).
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nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which admit and expel air for respiration in conjunction with the mouth.

In most humans, it also houses the nosehairs, which catch airborne particles and prevent them from reaching the lungs.
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In anatomy, the throat is the part of the neck anterior to the vertebral column. It consists of the pharynx and larynx. An important feature of the throat is the epiglottis, a flap which separates the oesophagus from the trachea and prevents inhalation of food or drink.
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In anatomy, the heart valves are valves in the heart that maintain the unidirectional flow of blood by opening and closing depending on the difference in pressure on each side. The mechanical equivalent of the heart valves would be the reed valves.
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Tracheomalacia is a condition characterized by flaccidity of the tracheal support cartilage which leads to tracheal collapse especially when increased airflow is demanded. There are three types:

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MeSH D014657 Vasculitis (plural: vasculitides), a group of diseases featuring inflammation of the wall of blood vessels including veins (phlebitis), arteries (arteritis) and capillaries due to leukocyte migration and resultant damage.
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A medication, medicine or drug is any substance or combination of substances administered to human beings or animals to treat or prevent disease; alternatively to assist in medical diagnosis.
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Rheumatology, a subspecialty of internal medicine and pediatrics is devoted to the diagnosis and therapy of rheumatic diseases. The term originates from the Greek rheuma, meaning "that which flows as a river or stream" and the suffix -ology
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For other uses of "ICD", see ICD (disambiguation).


The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (most commonly known by the abbreviation ICD
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