WILL THE CRANIAL CRUCIATE LIGAMENT-DEFICIENT CAPRINE STIFLE JOINT DEVELOP DEGENERATIVE JOINT DISEASE

Unilateral cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) resection was performed in six goats. Controls for this procedure included the contralateral (non -operated) joints and six normal joints. All CCL-deficient joints had a positive cranial drawer movement throughout the study, whereas all o ther joints were stable. None of the joints showed gross evidence of d egenerative joint disease at necropsy 52 weeks after the operation. In addition, there were no statistically significant differences between either the frequency or severity of radiographic abnormalities in the two groups of joints. Despite long-term joint instability, degenerati ve joint disease did not develop in the CCL-deficient caprine stifle j oint. When the goat is used as a model for anterior cruciate ligament- deficiency in man, the significance of any results should be assessed in the light of these findings.