Pain is an important feature of juvenile idiopathic arthritis

This subtype can include the affect of the neck and jaw as well as the small joints usually affected. Affecting 5 or more joints in the first 6 months of disease. Oligoarticular is used with JIA terminology, and pauciarticular is used with JRA terminology. Oligoarticular JIA affects 4 or fewer joints in the first 6 months of illness. Current understanding of JIA suggests that it arises in a genetically susceptible individual due to environmental factors. The cause of JIA, as the word idiopathic suggests, is unknown and currently an area of active research. Children with JIA vary in the degree to which they are affected by particular symptoms. Late effects of arthritis include joint contracture and joint damage. Pain is an important feature of JIA, but young children may have difficulty in communicating this symptom.