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An experimental effort to determine the degenerative effects in the articular cartilage of the knee joint caused by meniscectomy was performed by doing partial and total meniscectomies on the medial compartment of dogs' knees. Gross and microscopic pathological changes in teh articular cartilage were studied by sacrificing the dogs at intervals of three to ten months. Results indicated that meniscectomy is not a benign procedure, and the removal of a meniscus in itself can lead to degenerative changes in the knee joint. Partial meniscectomy leads to less severe degenerative changes with the degree of change directly related to the amount of meniscus removed. In total meniscectomies when meniscus regeneration occurred, the cartilage surfaces where the meniscus had regenerated were protected. The degree of degenerative change was directly related to the amount of fibrocartilage that remained absent. Therefore, the knee menisci function to protect the articular cartilages from degenerative damages, but the exact mechanism of this is unknown.
Cox et al. (Sun,) studied this question.