Technique for measuring the area of canine articular surfaces.

A method for measuring the surface area of canine articular cartilage was developed. Ten pairs of humeri were harvested from fresh canine cadavers. The articular cartilage of each humeral head was covered with liquid rubber latex applied with a brush to the margins of the articular surface. The latex cast was removed from the cartilage after the latex dried. Radial cuts were made in the cast so it could be flattened into a 2-dimensional plane. The surface area of each cast was then measured, using a compensating polar planimeter.