The diagnosis of rheumatic diseases is primarily based on clinical symptoms and laboratory findings. However, diagnosis of rheumatic disease is often difficult because of the variations even in the same disease. Routine laboratory tests are valuable in detecting renal dysfunctions. In this review, the important auto-antibodies and inflammatory markers associated with rheumatic diseases are described. Further, their utility as diagnostic and prognostic tools, including their specificity, sensitivity and practical applications, is discussed.

*1Division of Molecular Diagnostics, Department of Clinical Medicine, Tohoku University, School of Medicine, Sendai 980-8574