David S. Newcombe, M.D., graduated from Amherst College in 1952, cum laude in Biology and received his MD degree from McGill University in 1956. He received postdoctoral training at Boston City Hospital, Duke University and the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital at Harvard. He then became the Director of the Rheumatology Division at the University of Virginia for a brief period, and subsequently the Director of Rheumatology at the University of Vermont, from 1967-1977. He then went to Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions where he served from 1977-1992 rose to the rank of Professor. He then moved to Massachusetts where he was Associate Chief of Staff at the Bedford Veterans Administration Hospital until he retired in 2001. From the time of his retirement in 2001, he embarked on the project that eventually became published in this book on gout. He worked essentially full time on this extensive project for approximately 10 years, until his death in 2010. The project was nearly completed at the time of his death. Approximately one year after Dr. Newcombe’s death, his family requested that Dr. Robinson arrange for the publication of this work. The manuscript was then modified, updated and prepared for publication. We believe that this book represents the most comprehensive publication available on the subject of gout, which is the most common inflammatory rheumatic disease. The Editor, Dwight R. Robinson, M.D. is a rheumatologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School