Until the processes occurring at healthy cartilage
are not widely
known, it is impossible to understand which factors
have a decisive
influence on pathological changes in diseases like
osteoarthritis.
Apart from the biochemical interactions, the
mechanical behaviour
of the articular cartilage plays a decisive role.
During every joint
motion enormous loads affect the bearing surface and
normally
cause no damage on the thin layers of cartilage. In
order to evaluate
this outstanding performance, unconfined compression
and atomic
force microscopy (AFM) were utilized to gain a
detailed impression
of the hyaline cartilage derived from the bovine knee
joint. With
regard to the compression, static, creep and dynamic
tests were
applied to qualify the cartilage s reaction towards
external loads. In
contrast, the atomic force microscope (AFM) assisted
in the
description of the surface structure and the
roughness values of the
cartilage s surface layer. This book exposes a
detailed picture of the
hyaline cartilage located at the bovine knee joint
that is regarded to
be of interest for all kind of (bio)medical scientists.
are not widely
known, it is impossible to understand which factors
have a decisive
influence on pathological changes in diseases like
osteoarthritis.
Apart from the biochemical interactions, the
mechanical behaviour
of the articular cartilage plays a decisive role.
During every joint
motion enormous loads affect the bearing surface and
normally
cause no damage on the thin layers of cartilage. In
order to evaluate
this outstanding performance, unconfined compression
and atomic
force microscopy (AFM) were utilized to gain a
detailed impression
of the hyaline cartilage derived from the bovine knee
joint. With
regard to the compression, static, creep and dynamic
tests were
applied to qualify the cartilage s reaction towards
external loads. In
contrast, the atomic force microscope (AFM) assisted
in the
description of the surface structure and the
roughness values of the
cartilage s surface layer. This book exposes a
detailed picture of the
hyaline cartilage located at the bovine knee joint
that is regarded to
be of interest for all kind of (bio)medical scientists.