A Quantitative Assessment of the Subchondral Changes in Osteoarthritis and its Association to the Cartilage Degeneration

Sections from osteoarthritic and normal canine femoral heads were obtained and divided into weight-bearing and non-weight- bearing areas. The trabecular bone area (%) and the severity of cartilage degeneration were determined by bone histo-morphology and a cartilage histological-histochemical grading system. Bone thickening and cartilage degeneration were increased in osteoarthritic joints, when compared to normal controls with consistently more pronounced alterations in weight-bearing areas. The severity of the cartilage lesions were found to correlate with subchrondral bone sclerosis.