[Morphological changes in the joint tissues and synovial fluid in rheumatoid arthritis and arthrosis deformans]

Abstract

A simultaneous morphological investigation of bioptic material of the synovial sheath, articular cartilage, and synovial fluid from patients with various forms of rheumatoid arthritis (100 patients with a typical articular form, 10 with benign evolution, and 20 with lesions of visceral organs) was carried out. It was noted that in the usual articular form of rheumatoid arthritis the most common morphological component in the synovial sheath was lympho-plasmo-cellular infiltration. In the "benign" form of rheumatoid arthritis immunomorphological shifts were manifested but slightly, in the articular-visceral form in the immunocompetent cells there were observed karyopycnosis and plasmorrhexis. Cells and the main matter of the cartilage apparently underwent an enzymatic lysis, the intensity of which correlated with the degree of phagocytosis of the synovial fluid. In the deforming osteo-arthrosis (150 observations) in the synovial sheath there were usually noted drastic sclerosis and atrophy of organ-specific structures, impairmement of the production of the synovial fluid, and dystrophic falling into fibers of the articular cartilage with intensive proliferation of the cartilage cells. It is probable that distructiion of the cartilage in arthrosis depends upon an impairment of the function of the synovial sheath to produce synovial fluid.