A Study of the Structural Response of Wet Hyaline Cartilage to Various Loading Situations

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A direct view was obtained of the manner in which the fibrous components and chondrocytes in bovine hyaline cartilage respond to the application of uniaxial tensile loading and plane-strain compressive loading. A micro-mechanical testing device was developed which inserts directly into the stage of a high-resolution optical microscope fitted with Nomarski interference contrast; this permitted simultaneous morphological and mechanical observations of articular cartilage maintained in its wet functional condition. Aligned and crimped fibrous arrays surround the deeper chondrocytes and undergo well-defined geometric changes with applied stress. These arrays may act as displacement or strain sensors transmitting mechanical information from the bulk matrix to their associated cells, thus inducing a specific metabolic response. The process of tissue recovery following sustained high levels of compressive loading can also be observed with this experimental technique.