The Vascularity and Remodelling of Subchondral Bone and Calcified Cartilage in Adult Human Femoral and Humeral Heads

A quantitative study of the vascularity and a qualitative study of the remodelling of the calcified cartilage and subchondral bone end-plateofadult human frmoral and humeral heads were performed with respect to age. In the femoral head the number ofvessels per unit area was found to fall 20 per cent from adolescence until the seventh decade and in the humeral head 15 per cent until the sixth decade. Thereafter an increase was noted in the femur but none in the humerus. More vessels were present at all ages in the more loaded areas of the articular surfaces: 25 per cent more for the femur and 15 per cent more for the humerus. The degree of active remodelling by endochondral ossification declined 50 per cent from adolescence until the seventh decade in the femoral head, and 30 per cent until the sixth decade in the humeral head, rising thereafter to levels comparable to those found at young ages. More remodelling was noted in the more loaded areas at all ages.