Pulmonary manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common of the classic connective tiss ue diseases. Its manifestations in the chest are varied as the pleura, lung parenchyma, airways, and pulmonary vasculature can all be involved. Tnf ap proach to a patient with RA and respiratory complaints, radiographic findin gs, or physiologic abnormalities requires a broad understanding of these ma nifestations. Moreover, the potential for therapy-related toxicity adds fur ther complexity to the pulmonary evaluation of these patients.