Author
Adam Christopher Abraham
Abstract
Knee osteoarthritis plagues millions of people in the U.S. alone, yet the mechanisms of initialization are not well understood. Recent work suggests that there are a myriad of potential disease inducing routes that may give rise to this debilitating condition. Understanding and elucidating the potential pathways leading to osteoarthritis may result in novel methods of prevention and/or treatment. Human meniscus areC-shaped fibrocartilaginous structures contained within the diathroidal knee joint, the primary function of which are to provide support and lubrication between the femur and the tibia. Each knee incorporates two menisci, lateral and medial, affixed at the anterior and posterior attachment sites to the tibial plateau. Meniscal attachments, or entheses, are unique graded tissue interfaces comprised of four distinct zones that diffuse longitudinal loads transmitted via hoop stresses of collagen fibrils in the meniscal body. The attachments must remain firmly rooted to the tibial plateau to effectively attenuate joint loads. If the attachments become structurally compromised, either through direct or indirect means, excessive transverse meniscal translation results. Such joint extrusion of the meniscal body is a known precursor to developing osteoarthritis. To date there have been no investigations of integrity of meniscal attachments in the aged arthritic knee.