On Synovial Regeneration and the Effect after Electrical Synovectomy of the Rabbit Knee Joints from Experimentally Induced Arthritis

Abstract

Experimentally, an electrical, wide open synovectomy, using a ring-formed electrode analogous to the loop of electric resectoscope, was performed for the rabbit knee joints, in which experimental arthritis was induced by oval albumin. No specific abnormal finding was revealed systematically as well as locally particulary due to the electrical synovectomy.
Pathological findings in the synovium and cartilage were compared between the group of the rabbits which were injected 1% osmic acid into the joint preoperatively and of control. There seemed to be a tendency that synovial regeneration was slightly retarded in the process of repair up to six week in the knee joints in which 1% osmic acid was injected preoperatively. However, there is no apparent discrepancy between the findings after that, small suprapatellar pouch is formed around the six week and the regenerated lining cell appeared in both groups up to the twelfth week.
Degenerative change of the cartilage appeared apparently in both groups up to the fourth week after surgery and the formation of the pannus and invassion of granulation tissue into the osseous tissue were observed as well.