[Morphological aspects of the pathogenesis of arthroses]

The morphological changes in human osteoarthrosis are compared with those occurring in the ankle joints of old rats. Chondrocytic necrosis, proteoglycan loss, cartilage fibrillation and loss of cartilage and bone are similar in both species. It is concluded that osteoarthrosis of the ankle joints in old rats may be a model to study the mechanisms leading to cartilage destruction. In contrast to the process in rats the human disease is "complicated" by secondary events as ischemic bone necrosis and debris synovitis. The latter two processes are of importance for the understanding of the clinical symptoms of osteoarthrotic joints.