Abstract
THE mechanism of lubrication in human joints depends on the bearing material (articular cartilage), the joint lubricant (synovial fluid) and the operating conditions (sliding or rolling speeds, load and time of load application). Cartilage is a composite of collagen fibre bundles set at various orientations within a ground substance of chondroitin sulphate, and containing a high proportion of watery fluid1–4. Its surface, which is very important to the lubrication behaviour, has been found to be rough by engineering standards. The centre line average value has been measured at 30 µinch for healthy cartilage, the roughnesses taking the form of undulations with small ones superimposed on others of larger wavelength5,6.
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WALKER, P., SIKORSKI, J., DOWSON, D. et al. Features of the Synovial Fluid Film in Human Joint Lubrication. Nature 225, 956–957 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/225956a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/225956a0
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