Mrs. Bell, a 45-year-old woman, appeared at her physician’s office complaining of unbearable pain in the interphalangeal joint of her right great toe. The joint was red and swollen. When asked about...

Mrs. Bell, a 45-year-old woman, appeared at her physician’s office complaining of unbearable pain in the interphalangeal joint of her right great toe. The joint was red and swollen. When asked about previous episodes, she recalled a similar attack two years earlier that disappeared as suddenly as it had come. Her diagnosis was arthritis.

(a) What type?

(b) What is the precipitating cause of this particular type of arthritis?