Quantitative study on morphology of calcified cartilage zone in OARSI 0∼4 cartilage from osteoarthritic knees

In mild OA, the thickness of CCZ was increased at first and then decreased, the roughness of tidemark and cement line was nearly unchanged, which suggests that the pathological change of CCZ is reversible. However, in moderate OA, the thickness of CCZ, the roughness of tidemark and cement line were progressively increased, which suggests that the pathological change of CCZ is irreversible.