Joint Biology
A 50-year-old woman presents with knee pain after a fall 6 months ago. MRI shows a focal full-thickness cartilage defect in the weight-bearing zone of the medial femoral condyle. She is overweight with a BMI of 32. The surgeon discusses cartilage repair options and explains why articular cartilage has limited healing capacity compared to other tissues. Regarding articular cartilage structure and biomechanics:
Mark each as TRUE or FALSE
Articular cartilage is composed of chondrocytes (1-5% of volume) embedded in an extracellular matrix...
Cartilage has four zones: superficial (tangential collagen fibers, highest collagen, flattest cells,...
Articular cartilage is highly vascular with good healing capacity; chondrocytes make up 50% of carti...
The negative fixed charge density of proteoglycans (sulfated GAGs) attracts cations and water, creat...
Cartilage has poor healing capacity due to: avascularity (no inflammatory response or progenitor cel...
Answer the questions to see explanations
Click T (True) or F (False) for each option