bone, joint, and muscle disorders
Overview of Autoimmune Disorders of Connective Tissue
Diagnosis
A doctor's evaluation Laboratory tests Sometimes established criteria An autoimmune disorder of connective tissue (also called an autoimmune rheumatic disorder or autoimmune collagen-vascular disorder) is diagnosed on the basis of its particular symptom pattern, the findings during a physical examination, and the results of laboratory tests (such as blood tests and biopsies). For some of these disorders, doctors can also base the diagnosis on an established set of criteria. Sometimes the symptoms of one disease overlap with those of another so much that doctors cannot make a distinction. In this case, the disorder may be called undifferentiated connective tissue disease or an overlap disease. 