1993 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Morphological Study on the Surface, the Most Superficial layr, and the Osteochondral Junction of Articular Cartilage.
| Project/Area Number |
03670705
|
|---|
| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
|
| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
|---|
| Research Field |
Orthopaedic surgery
|
|---|
| Research Institution | Tottori University |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
TESHIMA Ryota Tottori University Faculty of Medicine Associate Professor, 医学部, 助教授 (50144671)
|
|---|
| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
OTSUKA Tetsuya Tottori University Faculty of Medicine Assistant Professor, 医学部附属病院, 助手 (90223867)
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
1991 – 1993
|
| Keywords | Articular cartilage / The most superficial layr / Lamina splendens / Collagen fibrils / Osteochondral junction / Interface / Mechanical stress |
|---|
| Research Abstract |
We examined the surface, the most superficial layr, and the osteochondral junction of human and rat femoral head articular cartilage using polarizing microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.
(1) The surface of articular cartilage, from which the ultrafine amorphous substances were removed, consisted of a dense network of collagen fibrils and smooth in scanning electron microscopic appearance.
(2) The most superficial layr was an acellular layr consisting of collagen fibrils. The acellular layr was distinctly different from the inferior layr of spindle chondrocytes. The most superficial layr was 4-8 mum thick in humans and 1-2 mum in rats. In an experiment in which the articular surface layr was separated, the most superficial layr could be separated as a thin film, and there were no broken collagen fibrils on the inferior surface of the most superficial layr or the surface of the separated cartilage surface. There were distinct differences between the inferior surface and the cartilage surface in terms of orientation, density and diameter of collagen fibrils. These morphological findings suggest that the most superficial layr plays a role in maintaining the morphology of articular cartilage by acting as a coating on its free surface.
(3) The osteochondral junction of the weight-bearing region of human femoral head articular cartilage was significantly more irregular than nonweight-bearing region. There were no significant differences in irregularities of the tidemark or areas of the calcified cartilage between the weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing regions. These results suggest that irregularities of the osteochondral junction, which forms the interface between two different physical properties, might be dependent on the mechanical force which is exerted on joint.
|
Research Products
(4 results)
