Fig. 2

Ultrasonographic characteristics of axillary LNs in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients at baseline and in controls. a Map of ultrasonographic characteristics of all examined LNs. Each individual LN (indicated under the map, n LN) is graded 0–3 for lymph node volume (LNV), lymph node cortical width (LNCW), and lymph node power Doppler (LNPD) (see Methods for description of grading system). Individual LNs of each single subject are grouped together using map separators (vertical black lines inside the map separate different subjects). White vertical bars indicate subjects in whom no measurable LNs were found. RA patients with LNs displaying LNV, LNCW, and LNPD grades exceeding the threshold of healthy controls (HC) are clustered together on the right side of the map. Note the restriction of LN alterations in a patient subgroup. b Distribution of HC and RA patients according to the LNV, LNCW, and LNPD cumulative indices (sum of maximum detected grade for each parameter in the right and left axilla, see Methods for description). Note the differences between RA patients and HC and the degree of variability captured by each index (presented in separate graphs)