A disease that causes episodes of acute arthritis and inflammatory swelling in one or more joints. Gout usually starts in a well-used, oft traumatized joint like the right big toe or knee, and usually starts in the night, during the time that Traditional Chinese Medicine calls "liver hour," 2:00 to 4:00 A.M. (allowing for daylight saving time). The inflammation is caused by uric acid crystals that have lodged in the joint's white blood cells and results from the condition called hyperuricemia. Most folks with gout have a hereditary tendency to poorly excrete uric acid in urine as they get older, and it stays in the blood until. . . gout.