BENIGN CELLULAR RESPONSES IN RATS TO DIFFERENT WEAR PARTICLES IN INTRA-ARTICULAR AND INTRAMEDULLARY ENVIRONMENTSH. M. Van Der Vis, MD, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon1; R. K. Marti, MD, PhD, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery1; W. Tigchelaar, Research Technician1; H. M. Schüller, MD, PhD, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon2; and C. J. F. Van Noorden, PhD, Professor of Histology and Cell Biology3
1 Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Correspondence should be sent to Dr H. M. Van Der Vis. We examined the cellular responses to various particles injected into the knees and the intramedullary femoral cavities of rats in the presence of polymethyl-methacrylate (PMMA) plugs. The intra-articular particles were mainly ingested by synovial fibroblasts. Increased numbers of macrophages were not detected and there was only a slight increase in synovial thickness. Cellular responses in the intramedullary space were similarly mild and bone resorption around the PMMA plug did not occur. Bone formation was inhibited only by polyethylene particles. In contrast to current views, our study shows that wear particles per se do not initiate bone resorption.
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