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Articular Cartilage and Subchondral Bone

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MRI of the Knee

Abstract

The knee articular cartilage is a hyaline cartilage composed of water (65–80 %), collagen (10–20 %, with type II collagen representing 90–95 % of the network), proteoglycans (10–20 %), and chondrocytes (1–5 %) [1]. Morphologically there are four cartilage zones with different composition, structure, and function. The superficial zone is the thinnest zone of the cartilage (10–20 % from the cartilage thickness) and is covered by synovial fluid. It is mainly composed of collagen fibers oriented parallel to the articular surface and provides shear strength. The transitional zone is the thickest zone (40–60 % from the cartilage thickness) and contains randomly oriented fibers, and its role is to distribute stress uniformly [2]. The deep or the radial zone (30 % of the cartilage thickness) contains the largest diameter of collagen fiber. The fibers are oriented perpendicularly to the articular surface, and its role is to anchor the cartilage to the subchondral bone [2]. The calcified cartilage zone (5 % of the cartilage thickness), the deepest zone of the cartilage, is a mineralized thin area and represents a shock absorber along the subchondral bone [1].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Phoenix Diagnostic Clinic, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

    Nicolae V. Bolog MD, PhD, MS

  2. Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

    Gustav Andreisek MD, MBA & Erika J. Ulbrich MD

Authors
  1. Nicolae V. Bolog MD, PhD, MS
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  2. Gustav Andreisek MD, MBA
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  3. Erika J. Ulbrich MD
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Bolog, N.V., Andreisek, G., Ulbrich, E.J. (2015). Articular Cartilage and Subchondral Bone. In: MRI of the Knee. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08165-6_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08165-6_6

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