The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) is one of the institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health, an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). NIH is the primary federal agency that conducts and supports basic, clinical and translational medical research. The institute investigates the prevention, diagnosis, causes, treatments and cures for both common and rare diseases.