Factors influencing the oxygen concentration gradient from the synovial surface of articular cartilage to the cartilage-bone interface: a modeling study.

OBJECTIVE: There is very little information on the gradients of oxygen concentration from the synovial surface to the subchondral bone in articular cartilage. Cartilage is usually regarded as hypoxic, even though cellular metabolism is inhibited at low oxygen concentrations. We therefore measured r...