ABSTRACT
Osteoarthritis is a common cause of pain and disability, particularly in the elderly. Initially described in respect of its radiological features, oesteoarthritis was seen as a consequence of ‘wear and tear’ rather than as an active disease process. Recent evidence of ongoing active disease has led to a challenge to this view, and its replacement by a view that osteoarthritis is a complex condition involving the whole synovial joint and adjacent bone.
