Section of the medial collateral and both cruciate ligaments combined
with resection of the medial meniscus in rabbit knees caused instability
and during the ensuing six months these knees showed progressive
histological changes similar to those of human osteoarthritis. Biochemical
analysis of the cartilage from such knee joints demonstrated a decrease in
proteoglycan, an increase in acid phosphatase, and increases in the rates
of synthesis of protein and glycosaminoglycan. These findings, which are
quite consistent with those in human osteoarthritis, suggest that this
animal model may be of value in the study of the pathogenesis and treatment
of human disease.