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Updated: June 20, 2025
#Definition of Terms.# The term synovitis is applied to any reaction which affects the synovial membrane of a joint. It is usually associated with effusion of fluid, and this may be serous, sero-fibrinous, or purulent.
Arthritis is the term applied when not only the synovial membrane but the articular surfaces, and it may be also the ends of the bones, are involved, and it is necessary to prefix a qualifying adjective which indicates its nature. When effusion is present, it may be serous, as in arthritis deformans, or sero-fibrinous or purulent, as in certain forms of pyogenic and tuberculous arthritis.
The commonest type is a chronic synovitis or hydrops, in which the joint very often the knee becomes filled with a serous or sero-fibrinous exudate. There are no reactive changes in the synovial membrane, cellular tissue, or skin, nor is there any fever or disturbance of health. The movements are free except in so far as they are restricted by the amount of fluid in the joint.
Thus it may be serous, as in some forms of synovitis; sero-fibrinous, as in certain varieties of peritonitis, the fibrin tending to limit the spread of the inflammation by forming adhesions; croupous, when it coagulates on a free surface and forms a false membrane, as in diphtheria; hæmorrhagic when mixed with blood; or purulent, when suppuration has occurred.
The character of an inflammation is largely modified by the nature of the tissue in which it occurs. A serous inflammation is characterized by serous, watery exudates. This form occurs in the serous membranes, mucous membranes and skin. Sero-fibrinous inflammations, such as occur in pleurisy and peritonitis, are common.
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