The Technique of Excision of the Internal Semilunar Cartilage.

i. Tuberculosis of the knee-joint is in the very large majority of cases initially a synovial infection, and remains so for a long period, and is sometimes entirely confined to the synovia. 2. X-ray examination is of no real value in the early diagnosis which must be made and treatment started long before X-ray changes are apparent. 3. Despite treatment the disease tends to involve the whole joint, leading to fibrous ankylosis and, in cases where nature is assisted by surgery, bony ankylosis. 4. Immobilisation must be combined with extension for a very long period, followed by ambulatory treatment in a weight-bearing caliper, with the sound foot raised on a patten; and later, gradual progress to weight bearing, the knee being protected from strain for many months. 5. There is usually a tendency to recurrence after periods of apparently complete quiescence.