Human articular cartilage in osteoarthrosis. I. The matrix. Transmission electron microscopic study.

The present research has been carried out with the aim of contributing to the understanding of morphological changes in human articular cartilage during osteoarthrosis and to evaluate the usefulness of TEM in this application. Only the matrix was examined in this first phase of study. Fragments from the femoral head of 20 patients subjected total hip arthroplasis, were studied by TEM after treatment with current procedures. The images obtained were considered observing the division of cartilage into superficial, intermediate and deep layers. Patients were divided according to the gravity of their clinical conditions. The least severe forms of pathology seem to involve only the superficial layer, which quickly loses the lamina splendens and may be affected by rarefactions of the matrix, which becomes fissured, while the deep layers are only slightly involved. During the later stages, the pathology progresses with irregularity of disposition and size of the collagen fibres and an increase in the number and size of fissures. The intermediate layer shows architectural disorder in the collagen fibres, even reaching the deep layer. The interfibrillar distance appears greater. As pathology progresses, the superficial layer tends to disappear, while the successive layers undergo progressive alteration in disposition and size of the collagen fibres. Globular aggregations of various dimensions and electron density similar to collagen are present in the deep layer.