LETTERS

Orderly arrayed deposit of urate crystals in gout suggest epitaxial formation The mechanisms responsible for the initial deposit of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals in gouty joints remain obscure. We report on nine small fragments of tissue that showed an arranged deposit MSU crystals, which were obtained along with synovial fluid (SF) from asymptomatic gouty joints. Three of the frag-ments had chondrocytic islands, indicating their cartilaginous nature;MSU crystals were found in their depth, all oriented in the same direction and in two of them, a parallel fibril