[Ultrastructure of the contact surfaces of joints].

Scanning and transmissive electron microscopy of the rubbing surfaces in the human and rabbit knee joints has demonstrated that on the articular cartilage and meniscus there is a globular layer bordering the articular cavity. The globules are round, 500-1,200 nm in the diamter. The size of the globules and their arrangement density are not constant. Small globules (less than 100 nm) occur more often near the collagenous fibrillae of the sublayer. Large globules (up to 2,800 nm) are ball-shaped or flattened and found in aged persons.