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Bend those knees!
Author(s) -
Clough Geraldine
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the journal of physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.802
H-Index - 240
eISSN - 1469-7793
pISSN - 0022-3751
DOI - 10.1113/jphysiol.2008.151464
Subject(s) - synovial fluid , hyaluronic acid , chemistry , glycosaminoglycan , cartilage , synovial joint , in vivo , glucuronic acid , rheumatoid arthritis , secretion , arthritis , medicine , endocrinology , osteoarthritis , biophysics , biochemistry , anatomy , biology , pathology , articular cartilage , genetics , polysaccharide , alternative medicine
Our evolutionary success as vertebrates has been in large part due to the development and positioning of the synovial joint, sitting as it does between our long bones, to enable us to move smoothly. Synovial fluid, the visco-elastic material filling the joint cavity, serves not only as a lubricant and a shock absorber but is also an important source of nutrients for the joint cartilage (Fam et al. 2007). One of the major components of synovial fluid and central to its rheological and other properties is the glycosaminoglycan, hyaluronic acid (HA). HA, composed of repeated disaccharide units of N-acetylglucosamine and d-glucuronic acid, has an average molecular mass of 1 × 106 Da. Its concentration in human synovial fluid is between 2 and 4 mg ml?1.