[Results of autopsy examination of knee cartilage in 120 patients dying in the hospital. I. Femoro-patellar joint].

The authors have performed the pathological examination of the knees of 57 women and 63 men or 112 patients over the age of 50, who died in the hospital. The lesions of the patellar and trochlear cartilages were studied and classified according to four categories: stage I: non extended fissures; stage II: fissures extending over 25 p. cent of the articular surface; stage III: fissures associated with small deep ulcerations of the cartilage; stage IV: deeps and extended ulcerations of the articular cartilage exposing the sub-chondral bone. Cartilage alterations were found in 93.3 p. cent of the patellas; 26.2 p. cent of stage I; 22.5 p. cent of stage II, 27.1 p. cent of stage III; 17.5 p. cent of stage IV. These alterations are bilateral and symmetrical, most of the time. Their frequency and severity increase with age. Thus, deep and extended ulcerations (stage IV) of the patellar cartilage have a frequency of 1.9 p. cent before the age of 60.8 p. cent between 60 and 70 years, 13.6 p. cent between 70 and 80 years and 38.9 p. cent after 80 years. Alterations of the patellar cartilage are more frequent and more severe in women than in men. In 85.7 of the patellas they occupy both facets, overriding the patellar crest; more seldom, they are exclusively localized to the medial patellar facet (11.6 p. cent) or lateral facet (3.1 p. cent). Alterations of the trochlear cartilage, although more common are less frequent than that of the patellar cartilages. Patellar osteophytosis is very frequent.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)