As a result of our study the following conclusions may be drawn: 1. Irradiated homograft costal cartilage appears to survive as a nonviable implant in part replaced by host tissue in the cat. 2. Such replacement may be minimized by leaving as much perichondrium intact as is feasible. 3. Boiling or freezing fresh autogenous cartilage in an attempt to alter its warping characteristics is asking for increased resorption.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Banded structures in human nucleus pulposus.

We studied 20 intervertebral disks from cervical, thoracic, and lumbar levels from patients 12 hours to 55-years-old by electronmicroscopy. Tissue was obtained at operation from 10 patients with scoliosis and 6 with herniation of the intervertebral disk. Four intervertebral disks were removed at autopsies performed within 4 hours of death. Banded structures distinct from native collagen were present in the nuclei pulposi of all intervertebral disks but not in the annuli fibrosi. These structures may be an unusual form of collagen, however they closely resemble extracellular banded structures found in frog muscle spindle that may form from find filaments when the muscle spindle increases in length.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Calcifying tendinitis: a new concept of its pathogenesis.

To elucidate the pathogenesis of calcifying tendinitis, clinical and morphological investigations were done on 46 surgically treated cases. Contrary to the prevalent concept of degeneration preceding dystrophic calcification, we found no evidence for an active or a healed degenerative process. The affected tendon was transformed into fibrocartilage with a predilection for calcification. The formative phase of calcification was followed in course of time by a resorptive phase during which the deposits were surrounded by phagocytosing cells. There was a concomitant proliferation of vascular channels. We found a significant correlation between severe pain and histological signs of resorption. The pathogenetic mechanism of calcifying tendinitis should be reassessed as a unique disorder of the musculotendinous cuff.

Adult↗