Meachim G
J Pathol. 1976 Jul;119(3):167-73. doi: 10.1002/path.1711190306.
The state of the fibrocartilaginous menisci of the adult knee joint has been studied at necropsies in the city of Liverpool on a random series of 94 white Europeans (55 men, 39 women) aged 21 to 94 yr. The left lateral meniscus was selected for particular attention; in 20 of the subjects the left medial meniscus was also examined. The gross and histological appearance of the superior and inferior surfaces of the lateral meniscus and of its free inner edge is described and illustrated at various ages. The findings from necropsy specimens indicate that the fibrocartilage of the adult meniscus is susceptible to a focal process of matrix fraying and splitting which has several features similar to those seen in fibrillation of hyaline articular cartilage. Certain differences in detail between meniscal and hyaline cartilage in the pattern of cell changes at sites of overt splitting are, however, apparent. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of an hypothesis that cartilage fibrillation represents a disruption of the collagen framework, and that "wear", of the matrix due to mechanical factors plays a major part in its development.
在利物浦市，对94名年龄在21至94岁之间的随机抽取的白人欧洲人（55名男性，39名女性）进行了尸检，研究了成人膝关节纤维软骨半月板的状态。特别关注左外侧半月板；其中20名受试者还检查了左内侧半月板。描述并展示了不同年龄段外侧半月板上、下表面及其游离内边缘的大体和组织学外观。尸检标本的研究结果表明，成人半月板的纤维软骨易受基质磨损和分裂的局灶性过程影响，这一过程有几个特征与透明关节软骨的纤维化相似。然而，在明显分裂部位的细胞变化模式中，半月板软骨和透明软骨在细节上存在某些差异。根据软骨纤维化代表胶原框架破坏以及机械因素导致的基质“磨损”在其发展中起主要作用这一假设，讨论了研究结果的意义。
