Rodent Preclinical Models for Developing Novel Antiarthritic Molecules: Comparative Biology and Preferred Methods for Evaluating Efficacy
Figure 7
Tissue trimming procedure for reliable and reproducible production of high-quality sections through the rodent femorotibial (knee) joint. A skeletal schematic diagram (a) shows the location of the cut required to isolate the knee region at the appropriate plane, as viewed from the lateral side. The tissue along the cranial (front) surface of the knee is removed ((b), oriented with the distal tibia to the left) a few millimeters at a time while holding the razor blade parallel with the cranial surface of the tibia. The appearance of the properly trimmed joint (d) will show the distal femur (F) and proximal tibia (T) separated by the joint space (asterisk (*)), as well as the physis (growth plate) for both bones (arrows). The appearance of the corresponding histologic section from a nonarthritic rat (c) reveals additional features within the joint space including the menisci (M) associated with the femoral condyles and the cruciate ligaments (X). Histologic stain: hematoxylin and eosin (H&E).
