Which cells and materials make up cartilage?
Chondrocytes and chondroblasts lie within a matrix of fibers and ground substance.
How does cartilage receive nutrients despite being nonvascular?
Nutrients diffuse through its ground substance.
What functions does cartilage perform in the body?
It provides mechanical support, flexibility, load distribution, friction reduction, and a template for bone formation.
What are the three types of cartilage?
Hyaline, elastic, and fibrous cartilage.
Which cartilage type is most common in the body?
Hyaline cartilage.
Which collagen type composes hyaline cartilage?
Type II collagen.
What skeletal role does hyaline cartilage serve during bone development?
It forms the skeletal model for most bones.
What happens to epiphyseal plate hyaline cartilage during endochondral ossification?
It is replaced by bone.
What makes elastic cartilage highly flexible?
Its elastic fibers combined with type II collagen.
Which structure always surrounds elastic cartilage?
A perichondrium.
Which collagen types does fibrocartilage contain?
Types I and II collagen.
What mechanical functions does fibrocartilage perform?
It provides tensile strength, bears weight, and resists compression.
Where is the perichondrium found, and what cells does it give rise to?
At the peripheries of hyaline and elastic cartilage; it gives rise to chondroblasts.
What do chondroblasts synthesize in cartilage?
Cartilage matrix.
What type of cartilage growth do chondroblasts cause?
Appositional growth.
What are chondrocytes?
Mature chondroblasts trapped in lacunae that maintain and remodel cartilage matrix.
Where is hyaline cartilage found in the respiratory tract?
In the nose, larynx, trachea, and bronchi.
Where is hyaline cartilage found on bones and ribs?
On articular surfaces of bones and at the ends of ribs.
Where is the perichondrium absent from hyaline cartilage?
At articular surfaces.
Where is elastic cartilage found?
In the external ear, auditory tube, epiglottis, and larynx.
Where is fibrocartilage found?
In intervertebral disks, the symphysis pubis, and certain joints.
Why does fibrocartilage lack a perichondrium?
It blends with dense connective tissue.
What gives fibrocartilage strength without appositional growth?
Type I collagen.
What property of cartilage matrix permits diffusion?
Its high water content.
What mechanical function does cartilage matrix provide?
Shock absorption.
Answer 12 questions on Cartilage Structure and Types.
1. Which three categories are recognized as the types of cartilage?
2. What happens when chondroblasts synthesize cartilage matrix at the cartilage surface?
Go over the full study guide for Cartilage Structure and Types.
Read the study guide →Upload your class notes and Revizly writes your flashcards in about a minute.
Flashcard maker