Ultrastructural evidence for fibril-to-fibril associations in articular cartilage and their functional implication.
This study presents ultrastructural evidence for the presence of a variety of fibril-to-fibril interactions or associations in the architecture of the general matrix of articular cartilage. These interactions are believed to serve a higher purpose of repeatedly constraining an overall radial arrangement of fibrils into an array of oblique interconnecting segments thus creating a three dimensional meshwork within which the hydrated ground substance is constrained. It is argued that any reduction in these interfibrillar interactions will allow the oblique fibril segments to revert to a low energy radial configuration, thus explaining the presence of such arrays prominent in various degenerate forms of articular cartilage.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Auckland, New Zealand.
N D
ND
Broom
D L
DL
Marra
D000818:Animals; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D002417:Cattle; D005270:Femur Head; D005615:Freezing; D006801:Humans; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D011309:Preservation, Biological