GROSS AND HISTOPATHOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE EFFECTS OF THERAPEUTIC ULTRASOUND (3.0 W CM(2)) ON EXPERIMENTAL CHRONIC TRAUMATIC ARTHRITISIN COW CALVES/

Chronic arthritis was induced in radiocarpal joint of 8 cow calves by injecting a mixture of I mi each of turpentine oil and gentamicin into the joint twice at 15 days interval. They were randomly divided into 2 equal groups - A (control) and B (treatment). Group B calves were tr eated with therapeutic ultrasound @ 3.0 W/cm(2) for 7 min. daily for 7 days starting from day 0. All the calves of both the groups were euth anized 7 days after the end of the therapy. Grossly, the treated joint s had glistening synovial membrane without haemorrhages and articular cartilage with fewer erosions as compared to fibrosed and haemorrhagic synovial membrane and considerably eroded cartilage of the control jo ints. Histologically, the joint capsule of the control joints showed m arked inflammatory changes with more degenerative changes in the carti lage as compared to the treated group where there was relatively norma l synovial membrane and the cartilage had better matrix staining and c hondrocyte density.