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Bio-orthopaedics pp 479–486Cite as

Subchondral Bone: Healthy Soil for the Healthy Cartilage

Abstract

Role of subchondral bone in the natural healing of the cartilage has been largely ignored during the last few decades; whereas the cartilage repair science evolved continuously. Clinicians and scientists were aware of the various properties of the subchondral bone; like nutrition to the cartilage, load sharing with the cartilage and as a constant supplier of chondroblasts, pluripotent cells and the growth factors to the cartilage. Various conditions like osteochondritis dissecans, osteonecrosis, bone marrow oedema in chondral injuries etc constantly indicated that the subchondral bone and the cartilage are one single unit-the osteochondral unit. However, there was an unintended neglect about the role of these important properties of the subchondral bone in the natural repair of the cartilage. The subchondral bone and the overlying cartilage, work as one integral unit and help each other in maintaining the biomechanical equilibrium. The relation between both the components is like a soil-plant relationship where none can survive without the other part. A proper attention to the subchondral bone is thus important to maintain a healthy cartilaginous tissue under physiological stresses and to regenerate a healthy cartilage in case of the cartilage damage.

Keywords

  • Subchondral Bone
  • Cartilage Repair
  • Natural Healing
  • Physiological Limit
  • Calcify Cartilage

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Saumya Orthocare: Centre for Advanced Surgeries of the Knee Joint, Sabarmati, Ahmedabad, 380005, India

    Deepak Goyal M.S., D.N.B., M.N.A.M.S.

  2. Department of Pathology, Smt NHL Municipal Medical College, Ellis Bridge, Ahmedabad, 380006, India

    Anjali Goyal M.D., D.I.C.P

  3. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan

    Nobuo Adachi M.D.

Authors
  1. Deepak Goyal M.S., D.N.B., M.N.A.M.S.
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  2. Anjali Goyal M.D., D.I.C.P
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  3. Nobuo Adachi M.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Deepak Goyal M.S., D.N.B., M.N.A.M.S. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. O.A.S.I. Bioresearch Foundation NPO, Milan, Italy

    Alberto Gobbi

  2. Clínica do Dragão, Espregueira-Mendes Sports Centre – FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence, Porto, Portugal

    João Espregueira-Mendes

  3. Musculoskeletal and Joint Research Foundation, San Diego, California, USA

    John G. Lane

  4. Department of Orthopedics, Acibadem University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Mustafa Karahan

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Goyal, D., Goyal, A., Adachi, N. (2017). Subchondral Bone: Healthy Soil for the Healthy Cartilage. In: Gobbi, A., Espregueira-Mendes, J., Lane, J., Karahan, M. (eds) Bio-orthopaedics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-54181-4_38

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-54181-4_38

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