This book highlights the effectiveness of differential diagnosis in the degree of severity of joint pathology from a clinical, biophysical, and informational point of view. It includes the following information blocks:

• Two-dimensional digital polarization microscopy of polycrystalline films of synovial fluid and determination of the coordinate distributions of the orientation and phase parameters of the microscopic image from a set of parameters of the Stokes vector.

• Mueller-matrix mapping of polycrystalline films of synovial fluid and determination of a set of coordinate distributions (Mueller-matrix images (MMI)) of azimuthal-invariant elements that characterize manifestations of optical activity and linear birefringence.

• Development of algorithms for polarization reproduction of distributions of linear and circular birefringence of polycrystalline films of synovial fluid.

• Identification of digital statistical, correlation and wavelet criteria of polarization and Mueller-matrix differential diagnosis of the degree of severity of joint pathology.

• Determination of maps of laser-induced fluorescence of synovial fluid polycrystalline films.

• Identification of statistical and correlational criteria for fluorescent differential diagnosis of the degree of severity of joint pathology.

• Operational characteristics of the power of the methods of azimuth-invariant polarization, Mueller-matrix and laser autofluorescence microscopy of polycrystalline films of synovial fluid.