Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study On Weight-bearing Area Of Articular Cartilage Of Adult Rabbits Tibia

【Objective 】 To analyze tibia articular cartilage of adult rabbits by the values of average diffusion coefficient(ADC)and fractional anisotropy(FA),define the range of weight bearing area and provide a reference of how to select tipical sampling spot for cartilage degeneration research in order to improve the precision.【 Methods】 28 New Zealand white rabbits were examined with 3D-WATSc and DTI and then measure the values of ADC and FA of tibia articular cartilage on the workstation.Divide the tibia from anterior to posterior into A,B,C,D and E five groups,analyze the difference in these five groups.【Results】 The Mann-Whitney U rank-sum test shows the difference between medial and lateral articular cartilage of tibia was not statistically significant(ZADC=-0.267,P=0.790>0.05;ZFA=-0.751,P=0.453>0.05).The variance of the values of ADC and FA between those five groups of each side is of statistical significance(P﹤0.05).Multiple comparison showed significant difference between those five groups of ipsilateral side,except the variance of values of ADC and FA between group C and group E in lateral side(P﹥0.05)and the ADC values between group C and group D of medial side(P=0.231﹥0.05).【Conclusion】 There is no statistically significant difference between medial and lateral articular cartilage of tibia.Significant difference is showed between those five groups,and weight-bearing area was supposed to be located in 4/5 part from anterior to posterior.For research about cartilage degeneration,this part is the tipical sampling spot.