Which type of arthritis is autoimmune, often affects smaller joints first, and can deform joints?

• A. Osteoarthritis
• B. Gout
• C. Rheumatoid Arthritis
• D. Psoriatic Arthritis

Answer: (C)

Autoimmune inflammatory arthritis that often begins in the small joints and can lead to deformities. Rheumatoid arthritis fits because it involves an immune attack on the synovial lining of joints, causing chronic inflammation that can erode cartilage and bone through pannus formation. This pattern commonly starts in the small joints of the hands and feet (such as the joints near the fingers) and is usually symmetric, which over time can produce deformities like ulnar deviation and swan-neck or boutonniere changes. While other arthritis types exist—osteoarthritis is degenerative and usually affects larger weight-bearing joints, gout is driven by crystal deposition and often presents with acute attacks, and psoriatic arthritis can involve psoriasis-linked patterns—the autoimmune, small-joint-starting, deforming presentation points most clearly to rheumatoid arthritis.