Postosteonecrotic osteoarthritis-like disorder of the femoral head of rats

The femoral heads of 15 rats were studied histologically 3 months after the induction of ischaemic necrosis by incising the cervical periosteum and cutting the ligamentum teres. The epiphyses consisted of immature disorganized subchondral and trabecular bone. The inter-trabecular spaces contained fibrous or haematopoietic tissue. Residual necrotic bone was rare. There was marked osteoblastic and osteoclastic activity. The articular aspect of the heads showed a spectrum of changes, ranging from cartilaginous degeneration with fibrillation and loss of glycosaminoglycans to an eburnated and polished bony surface. In seven rats, transphyseal bridges connected the epiphyseal and metaphyseal bony trabeculae to each other. It is suggested that the postnecrotic reparative processes, including the resorption of the necrotic debris and its replacement by newly formed, weak bone, led to an osteoarthritis-like disorder. This healing pattern of the necrotic femoral head was reminiscent of the progressive remodelling that occurs in rings in femoral capital osteonecrosis of adult human patients and in Perthes's disease of children.