The Synovial Membrane of the Knee in Pathological Conditions

This study permits us to define the cellular behavior of the synovial membrane to various irritants. In meniscal tears it is of mechanical nature, in hemarthroses it is of chemical nature (endogenous proteins), and in villous arthritis it is of an allergic nature (phenomenon of Arthus). The histological picture of each appears so different and so characteristic that it has a certain value in pathogenic research of a chronic affliction of the knee. We believe that it will be possible in the future to establish with precision, through a biopsy of the infrapatellar fat pad, the factor responsible for the origin of a morbid process.