Animal Models of Osteochondral Defect for Testing Biomaterials

Table 1

Comparison of age, cartilage, and defect size in different species.

Species	Age of skeletal maturity	Cartilage thickness	Cartilage volume	Critical-sized defect	Common defect depth
Rat	7 months	0.1 mm	2.17 mm^3	1.4 mm	1.0–2.0 mm
Rabbit	9 months	0.3 mm	53 mm^3	3.0 mm	3.0–5.0 mm
Dog	12‐24 months	0.95 mm	82.39 mm^3	4.0 mm	10–12 mm
Pig	18 months	1.5 mm	107.47 mm^3	6.3 mm	8–10 mm
Sheep	2‐3 years	0.45 mm	359.54 mm^3	7.0 mm	6–13 mm
Goat	2‐3 years	1.1 mm	251.65 mm^3	6.0 mm	6–12 mm
Horse	2‐4 years	1.75 mm	334.73 mm^3	4.0 mm/9.0 mm	10 mm
Monkey	10 years [16]	0.5–0.7 mm [17]	—	—	2–4 mm
Human	18–22 years	2.35 mm	552.25 mm^3	—	—