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Lupus

Lupus Physician Specialties

Doctor specialties that may be involved in the diagnosis, treatment or ongoing care of Lupus.

Allergists and Immunologists	Nephrologists	Rheumatologists
Dermatologists	Neurologists	Urologists
Hematologists

State Pages

State-specific information and physicians specializing in the care of Lupus.

Specialty Definitions

Rheumatologists

An internist who treats diseases of joints, muscle, bones, and tendons. This specialist diagnoses and treats arthritis, back pain, muscle strains, common athletic injuries, and "collagen" diseases.

Nephrologists

An internist who treats disorders of the kidney, high blood pressure, fluid and mineral balance, and dialysis of body wastes when the kidneys do not function. This specialist consults with surgeons about kidney transplantation.

Urologists

A urologist manages benign and malignant medical and surgical disorders of the genitourinary system and the adrenal gland. This specialist has comprehensive knowledge of, and skills in, endoscopic, percutaneous, and open surgery of congenital and acquired conditions of the urinary and reproductive systems and their contiguous structures. No Sub-Specialty.

Hematologists

Internal Medicine: An internist with additional training who specializes in diseases of the blood, spleen, and lymph glands. This specialist treats conditions such as anemia, clotting disorders, sickle cell disease, hemophilia, leukemia, and lymphoma.
Pathology: A physician who is expert in diseases that affect blood cells, blood clotting mechanisms, bone marrow, and lymph nodes. He/she has the knowledge and technical skills essential for the laboratory diagnosis of anemias, leukemias, lymphomas, bleeding disorders, and blood clotting disorders.

Allergists and Immunologists

An allergist-immunologist is trained in evaluation, physical and laboratory diagnosis, and management of disorders involving the immune system. Selected examples of such conditions include asthma, anaphylaxis, rhinitis, eczema, and adverse reactions to drugs, foods, and insect stings as well as immune deficiency diseases (both acquired and congenital), defects in host defense, and problems related to autoimmune disease, organ transplantation or malignancies of the immune system.
Clinical & Laboratory Immunology: A specialist who utilizes various laboratory procedures to diagnose and treat disorders characterized by defective responses of the body's immune system. These results are used for patient management.

Neurologists

Clinical Neurophysiology: A neurologist who specializes in the diagnosis and management of central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous system disorders using a combination of clinical evaluation and electrophysiologic testing such as electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), and nerve conduction studies (NCS), among others.
Neurodevelopmental Disabilities: A pediatrician or neurologist who specializes in the diagnosis and management of chronic conditions that affect the developing and mature nervous system such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and chronic behavioral syndromes, or neurologic conditions.
Pain Medicine: A neurologist or child neurologist who provides a high level of care, either as a primary physician or consultant, for patients experiencing problems with acute, chronic or cancer pain in both hospital and ambulatory settings. Patient care needs may also be coordinated with other specialists.

Dermatologists

A dermatologist is trained to diagnose and treat pediatric and adult patients with benign and malignant disorders of the skin, mouth, external genitalia, hair and nails, as well as a number of sexually transmitted diseases. The dermatologist has had additional training and experience in the diagnosis and treatment of skin cancers, melanomas, moles, and other tumors of the skin, the management of contact dermatitis, and other allergic and nonallergic skin disorders, and in the recognition of the skin manifestations of systemic (including internal malignancy) and infectious diseases. Dermatologists have special training in dermatopathology and in the surgical techniques used in dermatology. They also have expertise in the management of cosmetic disorders of the skin such as hair loss and scars, and the skin changes associated with aging.
Clinical & Laboratory Dermatological Immunology: A dermatologist who utilizes various specialized laboratory procedures to diagnose disorders characterized by defective responses of the body's immune system. Immunodermatologists also may provide consultation in the management of these disorders and administer specialized forms of therapy for these diseases.
Dermatopathology: A dermatopathologist has the expertise to diagnose and monitor diseases of the skin including infections, immunologic, degenerative, and neoplastic disease. This entails the examination and interpretation of specially prepared tissue sections, cellular scrapings, and smears of skin lesions by means of routine and special (electron and fluorescent) microscopes.
Pediatric Dermatology: A pediatric dermatologist has, through additional special training, developed expertise in the treatment of specific skin disease categories with emphasis on those diseases which predominate in infants, children and adolescents.