Fig. 3

Macroscopic examination of the tibia and femur of OA rabbits. a The surface appearance of the tibial plateau (over) and the femoral condyle (under) of the five groups of rabbits. Normal, control (no surgery); Saline, treated 10 mg/ka/day normal saline; glucosamine, treated 10 mg/ka/day glucosamine; CTX 10, treated 10 mg/kg/day CTX; CTX 30, treated 30 mg/kg/day CTX. b The macroscopic appearance assessment was conducted as described in Methods and Table 2. The five evaluated items include the presence of fissure (V-shaped cleft), osteophytes/chondrocytes, fibrillation (surface fragmentation), ulceration (erosion), and loss of superficial layer. At least three animals in each group were examined. The results were compared to the group of normal saline-treated animals. * p < 0.05