decision is taken, the primed fighters are brought through the blood stream to the site and actual warfare (inflammation) takes place. The WBCs and the chemical fighters surround the invader, break the bacterial cell wall and dissolve the cell material. In the process the WBCs are themselves destroyed. After all the germs or the foreign material is destroyed the debris liquifies (pus), is thrown out and healing begins by filling up the damaged area by the surrounding healthy tissues or scar tissue.

Of all these steps involved in this complex immune processes, the most important and sensitive component is the capacity of the WBCs to sense danger by differen tiating foreign cells from self cells. This is the most highly evolved faculty that is unique to a race or an individual. WBCs do this by identifying the differences in the structure of the proteins contained in different cells.

In auto -immunity this capacity to differentiate ‘self from nonself’ is disturbed. The WBCs think that the self protein itself is foreign and send messages to recruit fighter cells to that particular area and inflammation begins. In rheumatoid arthritis the body thinks that the cells in the synovial lining of the joints are foreign and the inflammations triggered off. This inflammation leads to swelling(tumor), pain(dolor), redness(rubor) and local heat (calor).

After the acute phase is over when the healing takes place by scar tissue the joint gets fixed in odd positions and this leads to stiffness and deformities. Due to immobility and damage to the joint structure, the muscles around the joints become wasted(weakened).