Degenerative Joint Diseases

Degenerative changes in the joints are so very frequently encountered that clinicians (orthopedists, surgeons, internists) as well as radiologists and pathologists are always coming across them. In the majority of cases these are the signs of wear and tear which greatly increase in old age. Primary damage to the articular cartilage appears in the most unlikely joints, initiating the development of arthrosis which leads to severe limitation of movement and causes very considerable distress to the patient. This primary impairment of function is frequently accompanied by severe pain. In spite of the very similar symptomatology, this “degenerative rheumatism” must be distinguished from “inflammatory rheumatism” (pp. 441 ff). Arthrosis begins as a disease of the articular cartilage when its metabolic activity is insufficient to maintain the correct functioning of the tissue. One then speaks of primary arthrosis.