This book is about the drugs used in the treatment and management of rheumatic disorders. The term 'therapeutics' used in the title is intended to mirror the relevance of drugs in the widest sense of the word. Thus, general principles underlying pharmaceutical and pharmacological study have been included together with more clinical matters concerned with applying specific rheumatic problems. The need for another work on rheumatological drugs in itself, as opposed to the different approach intended, was prompted by the ever continuing and bewildering plethora of antirheumatic drugs flooding the market at present. We believe that such a burgeoning of new preparations is welcome in an era when in general there are still no 'cures' available. Moreover, we also feel that a continued update of this rapidly advancing field is essential, not only for its own sake, but also to place it in perspective with itself and with neighbouring fields.
