[The persistence of Ureaplasma and its arthritogenic action in the experimental infection of rabbits]

In the experimental intraperitoneal infection of rabbits with U. urealyticum, serotype VIII, transitory polyarthritis with immunomorphological characteristics different from those of human rheumatoid arthritis has been shown to develop in the animals. The pathological process develops simultaneously with Ureaplasma infection. U. urealyticum persists in the body of infected rabbits during 12 weeks of observation. The mechanism of the resorption process in the bone tissue of joints, running similarly to periosteocytic osteolysis, is discussed.