Osteoarthritis is a deterioration of cartilage and overgrowth of bone often due to "wear and tear." Rheumatoid arthritis is the inflammation of a joint's connective tissues, such as the synovial membranes, which leads to the destruction of the joint's cartilage.
Review Date: 6/8/2008 Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief; Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital.
