Raphael Micheroli is a resident physician in training for the board certification of Rheumatology in Switzerland. In November 2015 he will have completed the mandatory two-year period in internal medicine, practicing at the district hospital of Glarus. Thereafter, he will work at the Rheumatology Department of University Hospital of Zurich.

Many rheumatic diseases cause changes that are visible in the hands. This book provides an overview of the most common rheumatic diseases with a focus on their hand manifestations and includes the following topics: Epidemiology, Etiology and Pathogenesis; Hand Manifestations; Further Clinical Manifestations; and the Diagnosis and Therapy of Each Disease. The rheumatic diseases addressed are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate deposition disease, psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis, systemic sclerosis and dermatomyositis/polymyositis.
The non-rheumatic diseases included are diabetic cheiroarthropathy, endocarditis, secondary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy and chronic regional pain syndrome. The roles of clinical evaluation, X-ray, MRI and high-resolution ultrasonographic images are also discussed.