Lupus
inflammation of connective tissue marked by skin rashes, joint pain and swelling, inflammation of the kidneys and inflammation of the tissue surrounding the heart.
Lupus, formally called systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Common symptoms include painful and swollen joints, fever, chest pain, hair loss, mouth ulcers, swollen lymph nodes, feeling tired, and a red rash which is most commonly on the face. Often there are periods of illness, called flares, and periods of remission during which there are few symptoms. Children up to 18 years old develop a more severe form of SLE termed childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus.
Lupus is Latin for "wolf": the disease was so-named in the 13th century as the rash was thought to resemble a wolf's bite.
The cause of SLE is not clear. It is thought to involve a combination of genetics and environmental factors. Among identical twins, if one is affected there is a 24% chance the other one will also develop the disease. Female sex hormones, sunlight, smoking, vitamin D deficiency, and certain infections are also believed to increase a person's risk.
The public source identifies “Lupus” as inflammation of connective tissue marked by skin rashes, joint pain and swelling, inflammation of the kidneys and inflammation of the tissue surrounding the heart. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Lupus, inflammation and connective.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1485. The Library of Congress control number is sh85078942. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Lupus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.