Drawings
Image library
These are drawings to show where a flare often shows up, not photographs of a particular person, and not a way to diagnose from a picture.
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A red, hot, very swollen joint still needs care. A drawing cannot tell a flare from an infection or from another joint problem. The highlighted area on each illustration is named in words in its caption. Color is not the only label.
Big toe
Big toe
Highlighted: the big toe joint (first MTP joint), seen from above. The big toe, at the first metatarsophalangeal joint, is the classic place a flare starts. This is an illustration, not a photograph of a person.Foot
Foot
Highlighted: the middle of the foot (midfoot and instep), seen from above. Flares also show up in the rest of the foot, including the midfoot and the instep. It is one example, not a map of every spot on the foot.Ankle
Ankle
Highlighted: the ankle joint, seen from the side. The ankle is another common place on the lower limb. A hot, swollen ankle can be a flare, and it can be something else. This is an illustration of the joint, not a case photo.Knee
Knee
Highlighted: the knee joint of a bent leg, seen from the side. The knee is a common site too. This is an illustration of the joint, not a photograph of a person.Where flares show up
Where flares can show up
Highlighted: big toes, feet, ankles, knees, wrists, fingers and elbows. The big toe is the classic site. The others are common places, but this list is not complete. Bursae and other joints can also be involved. This is not a full atlas, and the dots do not show how often each place is affected.Tophi
Tophus
Shown: a pale lump beside the big toe joint, with a magnified view of needle-shaped urate crystals. Tophi are chalky deposits of urate crystals that can appear later, often as a lump in or near a joint. Drawn simply, not as a shock photo. Not every lump is a tophus.Where flares often start is summarized from the sources. The illustrations are not clinical photographs.