Endosteal new bone formation in the long bones of adjuvant treated rats.

Histopathological changes were examined mainly in the diaphyseal parts of long bones, especially femur in adjuvant-treated male Lewis-SPF rats, with reference to clinical symptoms of chronic osteoarthritis. The diaphyseal bone marrow of long bones in these rats sequentially showed three different processes of chronic pathological changes, which, however, partly overlapped each other. Initially, multiple epitheloid cell granulomas or granulomatous lesions containing fibrin deposits began to appear in the marrow space about 22 days after adjuvant injection, when the joint score of arthritis reached a peak in severity. Secondly, about a week after appearance of the granulomas, there occurred the intramembranous endosteal new bone formation proceeding from the endosteum towards the granulomatous lesions. The bone formation reached a maximum about 64 days after the treatment, when the redness of joints of feet and hands was already sedated. Finally, about 40 days after occurrence of the second event, the newly growing bone matrix began to be actively resorbed simultaneously. On the other hand, in the bone marrow of metaphyseal parts of long bones in these rats, severe acute osteomyelitis was observed from an early stage, with marked destruction of bone trabeculae and simultaneous new bone formation. In the diaphyseal bone marrow of affected long bones, the epitheloid cell granulomas appear to induce the endosteal new bone formation.