[Microdurimetric and biochemical study of human articular cartilage. Comparison of different joints]

The micro-hardness and the density of fixed negative charges in cartilage of the shoulders, hips and knees of 6 subjects were studied. These two parameters were narrowly correlated. The resistance and proteoglycan concentration of the cartilage of the femoral head were greater than those of the knee and of the shoulder. They did not vary on each side. There is a significant correlation between the hardness of the cartilage of the femoral head and of the external femoral condyle. The histologically normal cartilage of the femoral head in arthrosis is at the lower limit of control values for hardness.