[Physiopathology of articular chondrocalcinosis].

The physiopathological mechanisms leading to precipitation of pyrophosphate in the articular cartilage remain unclear. Numerous findings suggest an error in pyrophosphate metabolism: excessive production or defective degradation, a primary modification of the fundamental substance leading to crystallization, a chondrocyte dysfunction being a possible cause of these two anomalies. The relationships between deposition of calcium pyrophosphate and changes in the subchondral osseous plaque common to several metabolic diseases are even more mysterious.