Chondral and osteochondral defects play an important role in the knee surgery. The knee traumas are often followed by preterm development of osteoarthritis due to limited reparative processes in the cartilage. Today's diagnostic possibilities and progress in arthroscopic techniques promote the early diagnostic and exact classifi- cation of osteochondral defects. The prognosis of these injuries is improved by following early treatment. Authors present therapeutic ways of solving the defects of cartilage and adjacent part of the subchondral bone. The new possible method of solving the deep chondral defects on the weight-bearing site of the knee by combined mosaic plasty and autologous cultivated chondrocytes is described.

        Key words: chondral and osteochondral defects – therapy – autologous chondrocyte transplantation – mosaic plasty