Vasculitis Unlimited in Rheumatoid Arthritis: An Illustrated Review

Rheumatoid arthritis has a multitude of extra-articular manifestations, of which systemic vasculitis is a clinically significant co-morbidity and co-mortality determinant in the prognosis of the disease. Rheumatoid vasculitis may occur in the early stage of the disease but, more commonly, in patients who have had seropositive rheumatoid arthritis for 10 years or longer. Rheumatoid vasculitis has a wide variety of histopathologic expressions and it may affect blood vessels of all sizes (from vasa nervorum or vasa vasorum to the aorta; and occasionally veins and venules). The diagnosis ideally requires biopsy or autopsy tissue confirmation, which is discussed and illustrated in this review.