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Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) is the most common rheumatic condition in children and a major cause of chronic disability. 1 JRA is defined as persistent arthritis in one or o e joints for at least six weeks, when certain exclusionary conditions have been eliminated.2·3 The three major subtypes of JRA are based on the symptoms at disease onset and are designated as systemic onset, pauciarticular onset, and polyarticular onset.2 Systemic onset juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (SoJRA) represents about 10-20% of all forms of JRA.4 The incidence of ]RA is approximately 13.9/ 100,000 per year among children 15 years old or younger.1 In Finland, the incidence was 19.5/100,000 of the population under 16 years of age. The incidence was significantly higher than in earlier years (1980, 1985, and 1990) in the same district.5 Different racial and ethnic groups appear to have varying frequencies of the subtype of JRA.1 The treatment of JRA is achieved using combinations of anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory medications in combination with physical and occupational therapy, occasional surgery, nutritional support, and psychosocial and educational partnerships with patients and parents.3,6 It is widely thought that a comprehensive team approach is associated with a superior outcome. 7 This paper reports a case of systemic JRA in an 11- year old boy.