Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Fatigue of Articular Cartilage

  • Letter
  • Published:

From Nature

View current issue Submit your manuscript

Abstract

IT has been suggested1 that fibrillation, the earliest change in osteoarthritic cartilage visible to the naked eye, may be the result of fatigue failure. Abnormally high stresses in the superficial layer of cartilage could be produced by unusually high applied loads, incongruity of the joint surface, or softening of the cartilage by mucopolysaccharide loss. Repeated cyclic loading could then lead to fatigue failure in the surface layer. To test this hypothesis postmortem human articular cartilage was subjected to repetitive compressive loads.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Freeman, M. A. R., Modern Trends in Orthopaedics (Butterworths, 1972).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Meachim, G., Ann. Rheum. Dis., 31, 457 (1972).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Maroudas, A., and Thomas, H., Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 215, 214 (1970).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Maroudas, A., Evans, H., and Almeida, L., Ann. Rheum. Dis., 32, 1 (1973).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, SW7

    B. O. WEIGHTMAN, M. A. R. FREEMAN & S. A. V. SWANSON

Authors
  1. B. O. WEIGHTMAN
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M. A. R. FREEMAN
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. S. A. V. SWANSON
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

WEIGHTMAN, B., FREEMAN, M. & SWANSON, S. Fatigue of Articular Cartilage. Nature 244, 303–304 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/244303a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/244303a0

  • Springer Nature Limited

This article is cited by

Search

Navigation