Ochronotic arthropathy, an approach to osteoarthritis bone remodelling.

The objective is to use hip ochronotic arthropathy for an indirect approach to osteoarthritis bone remodelling in a human joint via an identified causal chondropathy. The method is via radiology connecting pathology and nosology, based on the study of seven ochronotic femur heads excised in alcaptonuric patients. Due to the brittleness of ochronotic cartilage, bone remodelling similar to that of hip osteoarthritis exists with diffuse narrowing of the interarticular space and (except in one case modified by intermediary surgery) poorly developed osteophytes. Ochronotic arthropathy is only a privileged model of osteoarthritis bone remodelling, the pathology of which might well evidence the stages of the process, with marking by pigmented cartilage remnants Thus it may lead to various reflections in rheumatology, among others concerning the respective radiological hip images of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. The use of the pathology-radiology files provided by hip surgery of ochronotic arthropathy might offer a useful reference model for investigating various aspects of osteoarthritis.