ABSTRACT
This is a group of diseases characterized by an inflammatory arthritis with a negative test for IgM rheumatoid factor. They have common features which include sacroiliitis and/or spondylitis, asymmetrical oligo-arthritis, enthesitis and anterior uveitis. There is often a family association and a high prevalence of HLA-B27 antigen. The origin of these disorders appears to be an abnormal response to infection in a genetically predisposed person. The initiating organism has been identified in some.
