Changes in the hyaline articular cartilage after air exposure

The changes of hyaline articular cartilage from rabbits after air exposure were evaluated. The knee joints were exposed to air for periods of thirty minutes to two hours. The animals were killed periodically, at three days, one week and three weeks postoperatively. After sacrifice, the cartilage was removed and prepared for study by light microscopy and electron microscopy. Exposure to room air for thirty minutes produced chondrocyte necrosis in the upper third of the cartilage, and exposure for 60 minutes or longer produced chondrocyte necrosis of the entire thickness of articular cartilage at three days after arthrotomy. But, three weeks after arthrotomy, we could not find any chondrocyte necrosis in any rabbits at varying periods of air exposure. There was no significant change in proteoglycan content between the aired and control cartilage.

Exposing cartilage to air can cause transient and reversible cartilage damage. If these changes are not reversible, the orthopedic surgeon should consider avoiding the prolonged exposure of articular cartilage to air, since complete matrix disintegration is known to occur months after chondrocyte necrosis.