Macroscopic grading, histologic grading, morphometry, mineral analysis, and mechanical testing were performed to better understand the changes that occur in the cartilage, calcified cartilage, and subchondral bone in early osteoarthritis. The earliest changes in osteoarthritis (OA) remain poorly understood due to the difficulty in detecting OA before patients feel pain. We have published details of the mature bovine patella model showing the pre-OA state where no gross macroscopic changes are visible yet microstructural changes indicate very early degeneration. In this new study, we proceed to investigate this model further by more comprehensively quantifying the changes in articular cartilage (AC), zone of calcified cartilage (ZCC), and subchondral bone (SB) in pre and early OA.Summary
Introduction
