Harrison's Manual of Medicine
Chapter 166: Osteoarthritis
To view the entire topic, please sign in or purchase a subscription.
Harrison’s Manual of Medicine 20th edition provides 600+ internal medicine topics in a rapid-access format. Download Harrison’s App to iPhone, iPad, and Android smartphone and tablet. Explore these free sample topics:
-- The first section of this topic is shown below --
DEFINITION
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disorder characterized by progressive joint failure in which all structures of the joint have undergone pathologic change. The pathologic sine qua non of OA is hyaline articular cartilage loss accompanied by increasing thickness and sclerosis of the subchondral bony plate, outgrowth of osteophytes at the joint margin, stretching of the articular capsule, and weakness of the muscles bridging the joint. There are numerous pathways that lead to OA, but the initial step is often joint injury in the setting of a failure of protective mechanisms.
-- To view the remaining sections of this topic, please sign in or purchase a subscription --
DEFINITION
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disorder characterized by progressive joint failure in which all structures of the joint have undergone pathologic change. The pathologic sine qua non of OA is hyaline articular cartilage loss accompanied by increasing thickness and sclerosis of the subchondral bony plate, outgrowth of osteophytes at the joint margin, stretching of the articular capsule, and weakness of the muscles bridging the joint. There are numerous pathways that lead to OA, but the initial step is often joint injury in the setting of a failure of protective mechanisms.
There's more to see -- the rest of this entry is available only to subscribers.