Rheumatology in Minnesota

Overview

The Division of Rheumatology provides state-of-the-art diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting the joints and connective tissue (rheumatic diseases), including more than 100 types of arthritis and many autoimmune diseases.

Doctors in the division have been trained in internal medicine and rheumatology. Besides caring for patients, medical staff are also involved in research and in training new rheumatologists.

The first chair of Rheumatology at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Philip S. Hench, started the tradition of research that still motivates the division today. His efforts led to the discovery of the beneficial effect of cortisone in rheumatoid arthritis, an observation that led to his sharing the Nobel Prize in 1950.

The division was instrumental in developing the first organized training program in rheumatic diseases for physicians in 1926. Rheumatologists trained at Mayo Clinic practice all over the world.

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., is ranked among the Best Hospitals for rheumatology by U.S. News & World Report.