Structural evaluation of articular cartilage: Potential contribution of magnetic resonance techniques used in clinical practice

Comparison study of intraarticular and intravenous gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage in a canine model

“…Some studies have asserted that variations in the water or proteoglycan content determine layering within articular cartilage (35)(36)(37). Topographical variations of the GAG content and cartilage thickness have been reported (38)(39)(40). Layering and the articular cartilage ultrastructure have recently been reported (41)(42)(43).…”

“…However, KIM et al concluded that the laminated appearance of articular cartilage on spin-echo and fast spin-echo MR images correlated with histological zones, and was not an MR artifact, reporting the following correlations between histological layers and laminae on T1-weighted MR images of articular cartilage: tangential and transitional lamina, superficial high SI; upper radial lamina, middle intermediate SI; lower radial lamina, low SI band, intermediate SI band; and calcified cartilage, deep low SI (57). Some studies have asserted that variations in the water or proteoglycan content determine the layering within articular cartilage (35)(36)(37), and topographical variations of the GAG content and cartilage thickness have been reported (38)(39)(40). PAUL et al showed that the SI variation curve resembled the curve for zonal variation in the cartilage proteoglycan content but not the curve for collagen or free water content (58).…”

The ultrastructure of mouse articular cartilage: Collagen orientation and implications for tissue functionality. A polarised light and scanning electron microscope study and review.

“…Since then light microscopy (Fawns and Landells, 1953;Anderson, 1961;Stockwell and Scott, 1967;Poole, 1970;Rosenberg, 1971;Shephard and Mitchell, 1976;Kincaid and Evander, 1985;Olivier et al, 2001;Hyllested et al, review, 2002), polarised light microscopy (Benninghoff, 1925;MacConail, 1951;Arokoski et al, 1996;Módis et al, 1996;Olivier et al, 2001), transmission electron microscopy (Anderson, 1964;Weiss et al, 1968;Minns and Stevens, 1977;Engfeldt et al, 1986;Broom, 1986;Jurvelin et al, 1996;Hunziker et al, 1997) and scanning electron microscopy (Inoue et al, 1969;Clarke, 1971;Clarke, 1974;Redler, 1974;Ghadially et al, 1975;Clark, 1990;Jeffery et al, 1991;Clark and Simonian, 1997;Kääb et al, 1999;Clark et al, 1999;ap Gwynn et al, 2000;, among other techniques, have all been employed in the attempt to determine the structure of AC. The ultrastructure of AC is an area still under debate and several different models of AC structure are described.…”

Damage and degenerative changes in menisci‐covered and exposed tibial osteochondral regions after simulated landing impact compression—a porcine study

“…A complex laminar collagen network was seen in juvenile bovine cartilage, whereas more mature tissue exhibited a simpler network pattern. 27 Furthermore, the structure of mature human cartilage possessed three distinct collagenous zones, while juvenile animal tissue displayed three, five, or seven laminae/ zones. 28 Though juvenile animal tissue is widely used as a model for mature human cartilage, their structural variations should be recognized.…”