MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES OF COXOFEMORAL JOINT TISSUES IN A 60-DAY EXPERIMENTAL MODEL OF CHRONIC COLITIS

Abstract

Background: Comorbidities involving gastroenterological and musculoskeletal pathologies remain a significant challenge in modern medicine. Chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, frequently provoke extraintestinal manifestations, prominently affecting large weight-bearing joints. This study aims to evaluate the comprehensive microscopic, morphological, and immunohistochemical shifts within the coxofemoral (hip) joint tissues—specifically the hyaline cartilage, subchondral bone, synovial membrane, and joint capsule—following a prolonged 60-day course of experimentally induced chronic acetic acid colitis in a rodent model.