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. 2016 Sep 20;7:1477. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.01477

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Copyright © 2016 Abdel-Azeem, Zaki, Khalil, Makhlouf and Farghaly.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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(A) Ankle joint of the control group showing the articular cartilage (C), the joint cavity (J), and the synovial membrane (S). (Control group, H & E, ×100). (B) Articular cartilage with its four zones: a superficial tangential zone (1), a transitional zone (2) that contained scattered chondrocytes, a radial zone (3) containing chondrocytes arranged perpendicular to the surface. A calcified zone (4) separating hyaline cartilage from the underlying subchondral bone (B). (Control group, H & E, ×400). (C) A photomicrograph of the rheumatoid arthritis group showing infiltration of the synovial tissue (S) by inflammatory cells- that grows over the articular cartilage (↑) and causes its erosion and irregularity. The nearby articular cartilage has lost its basophilia. The joint cavity is filled with inflammatory cells and exudation (E). Inset: fluid filling the joint cavity contains fibrin deposits and many inflammatory cells, including polymorphonuclear leukocytes (↑), lymphocytes (↑↑), and macrophages (▲). (Arthritis group H & E, ×100, Inset ×1000). (D) A photomicrograph of arthritis group showing invasion of the cartilage matrix by fibrovascular synovial tissue that is compressing the underlying bone. Note: Blood vessels have invaded the cartilage matrix (↑). Notice also apoptotic chondrocytes (↑↑). Inset shows the acidophilic matrix of cartilaginous tissue and chondrocytes with darkened nuclei and shrunken cytoplasm; some chondrocytes have eccentric nuclei. (Arthritic group, H & E, ×400; Inset×1000).