A group of diseases that affect connective tissue, including muscle, cartilage, tendons, vessels, skin, and ligaments. CTDs may be acute but are usually chronic. They may be localized or systemic and are marked by inflammatory or autoimmune injury. Examples of such diseases include systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis.
Certain autoimmune disorders, characterized by the immune system mistakenly attacking the body’s own tissues, can frequently impact blood vessels and result in secondary damage to connective tissue. Connective tissue diseases encompass conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, polyarteritis nodosa, systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, and dermatomyositis.