Pathological Findings of Osteoarthritis in Sternoclavicular Joint

Background: the sternoclavicular joint (scj) is the onlysynovial articulation between the upper extremity and thetrunk. this joint is one of the most frequently used joints, soosteoarthritis (oa) should be very common. however, thereare few studies about oa in this joint.methods: in this study, 48 sternoclavicular joints from the leftand right joints of 23 cases and two left joints from two furthercases were studied. right and left sternoclavicular joints wereremoved together in an unselected sequential autopsy series.ninety two blocks were prepared by cutting every scj to superiorand inferior parts. using histological staining, the articularsurfaces of the scjs were assessed microscopically.contact radiography was done to help assessing the presenceor absence of osteoarthritis.results: the features of normal joints were found in 18blocks. osteoarthritis changes were seen in 82 of the 92blocks. there was no significant correlation between age andosteoarthritis. no differences in the degenerative changeswere found between the sexes. severe osteoarthritis changeswere more common in the right scj and inferior part of thejoint than in the left and superior parts respectively. the osteoarthritischanges were severe in 36.6% of cases and mildto moderate in 48.8%.conclusion: oa was very common in these scjs, which isnot related to age and sex of the cases. there are clear changesin structure and glycan expression in the articular cartilage ofthe osteoarthritic sternoclavicular joint, which allow a distinctionto be made between mild, moderate, and severe osteoarthritisand normal cartilage. histochemical staining of thejoints can lead to accurate diagnosis of this disease.