Objective     To identify the clinical epidemiological features of articular cartilage lesions of knee.     Methods     The data of 2 479 cases (2 556 knees) concerning surgery video and medical records of total knee arthroscopy from October 2005 to December 2009 were retrieved from the database of our center. The prevalence

importance population information

age and location distribution

common illnesses and frequently encountered diseases were analyzed retrospectively in these difference stage cases of articular cartilage lesions.     Results     In the total cases the prevalence of articular cartilage lesions accounted for 55.1%. There was no significant difference in gender ratio between those with articular cartilage lesions and those without. The average age of articular cartilage lesions was 41.31±15.88

and the most common age bracket ranged from 30 to 59 years old. More was found in the right knee than in the left (P0.05). The predilection locations of articular cartilage lesions were the femoral trochlea

lateral tibia platform and patella. The common illnesses included meniscus injury

cruciate ligament tear and primary osteoarthritis. The highly frequent diseases were tuberculosis of joint

rheumatoid arthritis

joint adhesions and stiffness

patellofemoral joint abnormality and meniscus injury. The prevalence of articular cartilage lesions in different stages was 27.45% for grade Ⅰ

29.94% for grade Ⅱ

14.71% for grade Ⅲ and 27.89% for grade Ⅳ. There were significant differences in gender ratio

mean age and age bracket

and predilection locations and numbers among the articular cartilage lesions in different stages (P0.05).      Conclusion    Clinically

articular cartilage lesions are common in the knee joint. The range of age distribution is wide. Young people are major population

and no gender difference is seen. Gender constituent ratio is different for the cartilage lesions at different severity and for different lesions

and age distribution is different for the lesions at different severity.