Articular Cartilage[1]

The term "articular cartilage" refers to the hyaline cartilage on the articular surfaces of
bones. It is notable for being the only kind of hyaline cartilage that lacks a
perichondrium. Since the perichondrium is a source of nourishment for other kinds of
hyaline cartilage, the lack of perichondrium means that articular cartilage must absorb its
nutrients from the synovial fluid. Since the perichondrium is also the source of new
chondrogenic cells, the lack of perichondrium on the surface of articular cartilage means
that articular cartilage it cannot undergo appositional growth and is therefore less able to
repair itself relative to other kinds of hyaline cartilage.

Though it is often found in close contact with menisci and articular disks, articular
cartilage is not considered a part of either of these structures, which are made entirely of
fibrocartilage.

Articular cartilage injuries

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Cartilage structures and functions can relatively easily be harmed, often resulting in
damage. Such damage can result from a variety of causes, resulting from a bad fall or
sport-accident (traumatic), previous knee injuries (post-traumatic) or wear and tear over
time. Immobilization for long periods can also result in cartilage damage.

Articular cartilage damage might be found on its own but it will more often be found in
conjunction with injuries to ligaments and menisci. People with previous repairs to
ligaments and or menisci often face more chances to articular cartilage damage due to
alterned mechanics of the joint.

[edit] Repairing articular cartilage damage

Though articular cartilage damage is not life threatening, it does strongly affect the
quality of life. Articular cartilage damage is often the cause of severe pain, swellings,
strong barriers to mobility and severe restrictions to the patient's activities. Over the last
decades, however, surgeons and biotech ventures have elaborated promising procedures
that contribute to articular cartilage repair.

[hide]

v•d•e

Injury : Fractures and cartilage injuries (Sx2, 800-829)

 General Avulsion fracture · Greenstick fracture · Salter-Harris fractures · Spiral fracture

Skull fracture (Basilar) · Blowout · Mandibular · Nasal · Le Fort fracture of

skull
Head
Dental trauma: Enamel infraction · Vertical root fracture

Spinal fracture

Cervical: C1 (Jefferson) · C2 (Hangman's) · Flexion teardrop · Extension

Vertebral teardrop

Clay-shoveler · Burst · Compression · Wedge · Chance · Hyperextension

fracture dislocation · Holdsworth fracture

Ribs Rib fracture · Flail chest · Sternal

ShoulderClavicle · Scapular

humerus: Humerus (Supracondylar, Holstein-Lewis fracture)

Shoulder, arm ulna: Monteggia · Hume

Arm
and hand
radius: Galeazzi · Colles' · Smith's · Barton's · Distal radius · Essex-
Lopresti fracture

HandScaphoid · Rolando · Bennett's · Boxer's

Hip/femurHip fracture · Pelvic fracture (Duverney fracture)

tibia: Bumper · Segond · Gosselin · Toddler's

fibula: Maisonneuve · Le Fort fracture of ankle · Bosworth

Hip, leg and foot Leg
both: Trimalleolar · Bimalleolar · Pott's

Patella fracture

FootLisfranc · Jones · March · Calcaneal

M: BON/CAR anat(c/f/k/f, u, t/p, noco/cong/tumr, proc, drug(M5)

l)/phys/devp sysi/epon, injr
M: TTH anat/devp/phys noco/cong/jaws/tumr, dent, proc (orth, pros,
epon, injr endo)

Composition
Synovial tissue is sterile and composed of vascularized connective tissue that lacks a
basement membrane. Two cells type (type A and type B) are present: Type B produces
synovial fluid. Synovial fluid is made of hyaluronic acid and lubricin, proteinases, and
collagenases. Synovial fluid exhibits non-Newtonian flow characteristics; the viscosity
coefficient is not a constant and the fluid is not linearly viscous. Synovial fluid has
thixotropic characteristics; viscosity decreases and the fluid thins over a period of
continued stress. [2]

Normal synovial fluid contains 3-4 mg/ml hyaluronan (hyaluronic acid), a polymer of
disaccharides composed of D-glucuronic acid and D-N-acetylglucosamine joined by
alternating beta-1,4 and beta-1,3 glycosidic bonds.[3] Hyaluronan is synthesized by the
synovial membrane and secreted into the joint cavity to increase the viscosity and
elasticity of articular cartilages and lubricate the surfaces between synovium and
cartilage.[4]

Synovial fluid contains lubricin secreted by synovial cells. It is chiefly responsible for so-
called boundary-layer lubrication, which reduces friction between opposing surfaces of
cartilage. There is also some evidence that it helps regulate synovial cell growth.[5]

Its functions are:

reducing friction by lubricating the joint, absorbing shocks, and supplying oxygen and
nutrients to and removing carbon dioxide and metabolic wastes from the chondrocytes
within articular cartilage.[citation needed]

It also contains phagocytic cells that remove microbes and the debris that results from
normal wear and tear in the joint.
 human chromosome 15

Genes
The following are some of the genes located on chromosome 15:

• CAPN3: Calpain 3 (limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2A)

• CHP: Calcium binding protein P22
• FAH: fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (fumarylacetoacetase)
• FBN1: fibrillin 1 (Marfan syndrome)
• HEXA: hexosaminidase A (alpha polypeptide)
• IVD: isovaleryl Coenzyme A dehydrogenase
• MCPH4: microcephaly, primary autosomal recessive 4
• OCA2: oculocutsexous albinism II (pink-eye dilution homolog, mouse)
• RAD51: RAD51 homolog (RecA homolog, E. coli) (S. cerevisiae)
• STRC: stereocilin
• UBE3A: ubiquitin protein ligase E3A (human papilloma virus E6-associated
protein, Angelman syndrome)
• PML: promyelocytic leukemia protein (involved in t(15,17) with RARalpha,
predominant cause of acute promyelocytic leukemia.
• SLC24A5: the gene responsible for at least 1/3 of the skin color differences
between races, expressed in the brain and the nervous system
• EYCL3 Eye color 3, brown - location: 15q11-q15 (note eye colour is a polygenic
trait) [1]

Chromosome 15 is one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes in humans. People normally

have two copies of this chromosome. Chromosome 15 spans about 106 million base pairs
(the building material of DNA) and represents between 3% and 3.5% of the total DNA in
cells.
Identifying genes on each chromosome is an active area of genetic research. Because
researchers use different approaches to predict the number of genes on each chromosome,
the estimated number of genes varies. Chromosome 15 likely contains between 700 and
900 genes.