On May 24-27,1992 the European Society ofOsteoarthrology (ESOA) held its 19th sympo- sium in Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands. The symposium was entitled "Joint destruction in arthritis and osteoarthritis" and sought to combine both clinical and experimental studies in this field. The present volume contains the proceedings of this meeting. The ESOA has organized most of its symposia in the eastern part of Europe, thanks to major input from Stanislav Havelka, who in recent years has been supported by Heikki Helminen. In appreciation of his efforts Stan Havelka was granted Honorary Presidentship of the ESOA at the meeting. In the era of European unification it seemed desirable to create a strong Uni- fied European Society, which would organize major meetings in both parts of Europe. Cartilage and bone research is expanding rapidly and the number of meetings in this field is continually growing. In line with these developments discussions took place with the recent- Iy founded "Eular Workshop on Bone and Cartilage Research" and the "Osteoarthritis Re- search Society (OARS)".