[Experimental arthrosis caused by chemical cartilage damage]

In experiments on rabbits the authors studied the dynamics of cartilage degeneration and subsequent pseudorepair processes following what was doubledose chemical damage to articular cartilage. In addition to the classical histological methods they used the histochemical demonstration of hydrolase and dehydrogenase which are of prime importance to cartilage. The intraarticular instillation of sodium iodacetate caused major and irreversible damage to the whole cartilaginous layer. Subsequent pseudorepair proceeded on the one hand from the cells of the peripheral synovial membrane and on the other to a lesser extent from the fibroblasts of the subchondral bone marrow. The most important enzymes depicting these processes can be regarded as AP and LDH. From the viewpoint of accessibility of dystrophic articular cartilage to repair cells one must distinguish the central part of the joint from its periphery. In the latter area of the cartilage it were mainly synovial cells which took part in repair and pseudorepair takes place considerably more actively here than in the central parts of the joint.