The cells of the rabbit meniscus: their arrangement, interrelationship, morphological variations and cytoarchitecture

Four major morphologically distinct classes of cells were identified within the adult rabbit meniscus using antibodies to cytoskeletal proteins. Two classes of cell were present in the fibrocartilage region of the meniscus. These meniscal cells exhibited long cellular processes that extended from the cell body. A third cell type found in the inner hyaline-like region of the meniscus had a rounded form and lacked projections. A fourth cell type with a fusiform shape and no cytoplasmic projections was found along the superficial regions of the meniscus. Using a monoclonal antibody to connexin 43, numerous gap junctions were observed in the fibrocartilage region, whereas none were seen in cells either from the hyaline-like or the superficial zones of the meniscus. The majority of the cells within the meniscus exhibited other specific features such as primary cilia and 2 centrosomes. The placement of the meniscal cell subtypes as well as their morphology and architecture support the supposition that their specific characteristics underlie the ability of the meniscus to respond to different types of environmental mechanical loads.     

Cost of diseases in international perspective

This study compares the health care costs of The Netherlandswith the United States and Sweden and estimates the impact ofdemographic change on costs. Total health care costs were allocatedto disease, age, sex and specific subsectors. For The Netherlands75% of the costs in 1988 were assigned to specific diseases.Costs of mental disorders and other chronic non-fatal diseasesdominate, followed by cardiovascular diseases. The effect ofage is strong from age 70 years onwards. The effect of sex,adjusting for age, is small, except for elderly women, who aremore expensive. Both total and disease-specific costs are similarin The Netherlands and Sweden, but differ from those in theUS. The available data suggest that the differences in medicalpractice and health care systems may explain a substantial partof the divergent results; demographic or epidemiologic aspectsseem less important. Ageing induces, in the Dutch case, a modest0.7% annual increase in costs. The contribution of other forcesin the increase of costs is probably more important. A structuralupward pressure on costs also prevails in The Netherlands andSweden, but it is more prominent in the US, due to a large amountof expensive surgery and high administration costs.