A 60-year-old woman with arthritis suffers a massive stroke and expires. At autopsy, the proximal phalangeal joint tissue shows pannus, synovial cell hyperplasia, and lymphoid follicles. Which of the following best describes the pathogenesis of pannus formation in this patient?
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic, chronic inflammatory disease in which chronic polyarthritis involves diarthrodial joints symmetrically and bilaterally. Synovial lining cells undergo hyperplasia. The result is a synovial lining thrown into numerous villi and frond-like folds that fill the peripheral recesses of the joint. As the synovium undergoes hyperplasia and hypertrophy, it creeps over the surface of the articular cartilage and adjacent structures. This inflammatory synovium is termed a pannus (cloak). The pannus covers the articular cartilage and isolates it from the synovial fluid. Synovial calcification (choice A) does not occur in RA. Pannus may destroy cartilage (choice C) by depriving it of nourishment.Diagnosis: Rheumatoid arthritis
Calcification of the synovium
Chronic inflammation of synovium
Degeneration of cartilage
Dislocation of a portion of bone
Osteology