Alterations in the collagen framework of osteoarthritic cartilage and subchondral bone

Specimens obtained from human osteoarthritic knee joints and dog knees with experimentally induced osteoarthritis were used to study the collagenous framework of articular cartilage and subchondral bone in relation to osteoarthritic changes using scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy. Degenerative articular cartilage in osteoarthritic joints showed radial orientation of the collagen fibrils, which were usually discernible as fibrillar bundle formations. Cartilage with extensive lesions often showed cleavages or fissures down to the calcified layer. The cartilagenous collagen fibrils in osteoarthritic specimens merged into the subchondral bone plate making the tidemark and the osteochondral junction irregular or obscure. The trabecular orientation of subchondral bone changed with alteration in the articular cartilage and with reactive changes in the subchondral bone, showing the effect of cartilaginous degeneration on its ultrastructure.