Reference
Glossary
Short definitions of words you may hear at the clinic, in alphabetical order.
Last reviewed
Terms A to Z
- Allopurinol
- A urate-lowering medicine. The 2020 ACR guideline names it as the usual first choice for long-term treatment. See Medicines, by name.
- Colchicine
- An anti-inflammatory medicine used for gout flares. See During a flare.
- CPPD
- Calcium pyrophosphate deposition, once called pseudogout. A different crystal arthritis that can look like gout. See Pseudogout and gout.
- Crystal
- In gout, needle-shaped crystals of urate that form in and around a joint and set off inflammation. See What gout is.
- Flare
- A sudden attack of pain, swelling, redness, and warmth in a joint. See During a flare.
- Hyperuricemia
- High urate in the blood. NIAMS notes many people with it never develop gout.
- Joint aspiration
- Taking a sample of fluid from a joint with a needle so it can be checked for crystals or infection. See How gout is diagnosed.
- MTP joint
- Metatarsophalangeal joint. The first MTP joint, at the base of the big toe, is the classic place for a gout flare. See Image library.
- NSAID
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. One kind of medicine used for flares. Not everyone can take one. See Medicines, by name.
- Purine
- A substance in the body’s tissues and many foods that breaks down into urate. See Food and drink.
- Serum urate
- The level of urate in the blood, measured with a blood test. Your clinician interprets it; this site prints no target. See Staying well.
- Steroid
- Short for corticosteroid. An anti-inflammatory that can be given by mouth or by injection for a flare.
- Tophus (plural tophi)
- A lump of urate crystals under the skin or around a joint, seen in long-standing gout. See What gout is.
- Treat-to-target
- A strategy where a clinician sets a blood urate goal and adjusts urate-lowering medicine using repeat blood tests until it is reached. The goal is yours to set with your clinician. See Staying well.
- Urate-lowering medicine (urate-lowering therapy, ULT)
- Long-term medicine that lowers urate, such as allopurinol. See Staying well.
- Uric acid
- Another name for urate, the substance that builds up in gout. See Causes and triggers.
Clinical claims on this page follow the sources.