Comparative study of osteoarthritis induced by monoiodoacetate and papain in rabbit temporomandibular joints: macroscopic and microscopic analysis.

The effects of papain were associated with condyle deformation, disorientation of the chondrocytes in the middle layer, and proliferation in deep zones; there was also an increase in the extracellular matrix. Both inductors generated changes in the TMJ and its joint surfaces; MIA was more effective and coincided more closely with the classic signs of the evolution of OA.