Cartilage Structure and Types Practice Quiz (12 questions)

1. Which three categories are recognized as the types of cartilage?

A. Hyaline, compact, and spongy cartilage

B. Fibrous, adipose, and hyaline cartilage

C. Hyaline, elastic, and fibrous cartilage

D. Elastic, reticular, and fibro-osseous cartilage

Answer: (C)

Explanation

The three cartilage types are hyaline, elastic, and fibrous cartilage. Compact and spongy are categories of bone rather than cartilage.

2. What happens when chondroblasts synthesize cartilage matrix at the cartilage surface?

A. They contribute to appositional growth by adding matrix.

B. They become trapped in lacunae and stop producing matrix.

C. They increase water content to promote diffusion through cartilage.

D. They maintain existing matrix and cause interstitial growth.

Answer: (A)

Explanation

Chondroblasts synthesize cartilage matrix, and their activity causes appositional growth. Maintaining and remodeling existing matrix is the role of mature chondrocytes.

3. Which components make up cartilage and its surrounding matrix?

A. Chondrocytes and osteoclasts embedded in calcium crystals and marrow

B. Fibroblasts and adipocytes embedded in elastic fibers and fluid

C. Osteocytes and osteoblasts embedded in mineral salts and collagen

D. Chondrocytes and chondroblasts embedded in fibers and ground substance

Answer: (D)

Explanation

Cartilage contains chondrocytes and chondroblasts within a matrix made of fibers and ground substance. Osteocytes and osteoblasts are bone-associated cells, not the defining cellular combination in cartilage.

4. Which combination correctly characterizes hyaline cartilage?

A. It is the most common cartilage type and contains type II collagen

B. It is less common than fibrocartilage and contains type I collagen for tensile strength

C. It is the most common cartilage type and contains type I collagen

D. It is less common than elastic cartilage and is characterized by elastic fibers

Answer: (A)

Explanation

Hyaline cartilage is the most common cartilage type and is composed of type II collagen. Elastic cartilage is characterized by elastic fibers, so that feature does not identify hyaline cartilage.

5. How do cartilage cells receive nutrients despite cartilage lacking blood vessels?

A. Nutrients are delivered by nerves that penetrate the cartilage matrix

B. Nutrients diffuse through the ground substance to reach the cells

C. Nutrients travel through lymphatic vessels embedded in the cartilage

D. Nutrients arrive through capillaries that run within the cartilage matrix

Answer: (B)

Explanation

Because cartilage is nonvascular, nutrients reach its cells by diffusion through the ground substance. Capillaries within the matrix would contradict the lack of blood vessels in cartilage.

6. A tissue must cushion a joint by distributing loads and reducing friction while remaining flexible. Which set of cartilage functions best explains this role?

A. Mineral storage, blood-cell production, hormone release, and protection of internal organs

B. Electrical signaling, heat production, nutrient absorption, and attachment of skeletal muscles

C. Joint lubrication, oxygen transport, immune defense, and direct mineralization of tendons

D. Mechanical support, flexibility, load distribution, friction reduction, and a template for bone formation

Answer: (D)

Explanation

Cartilage contributes mechanical support and flexibility, distributes loads, reduces friction, and can provide a template for bone formation. Blood-cell production and mineral storage are associated with bone marrow and bone, not the listed functions of cartilage.

7. Which role does the perichondrium play in hyaline and elastic cartilage?

A. It lies at the cartilage periphery and gives rise to chondroblasts.

B. It forms the cartilage matrix and drives interstitial growth.

C. It occupies lacunae and provides the cartilage with shock absorption.

D. It surrounds mature chondrocytes and directs their matrix remodeling.

Answer: (A)

Explanation

The perichondrium is present at the peripheries of hyaline and elastic cartilage and gives rise to chondroblasts. Chondrocytes, rather than the perichondrium, maintain and remodel the matrix.

8. What happens to the hyaline cartilage in an epiphyseal plate during endochondral ossification?

A. It remains as permanent cartilage at the joint surface

B. It is converted into fibrocartilage to resist compression

C. It is replaced by bone as the developing bone grows

D. It changes into elastic cartilage to support the growing bone

Answer: (C)

Explanation

Hyaline cartilage in developing epiphyseal plates is replaced by bone during endochondral ossification. Articular hyaline cartilage, by contrast, is found at bone surfaces and is not the cartilage described as being replaced in the growth plate.

9. Which mechanical demands are well suited to fibrocartilage?

A. Allowing high flexibility, reducing friction, and providing a model for bone formation

B. Providing tensile strength, bearing weight, and resisting compression

C. Supporting diffusion, forming blood cells, and resisting bending through mineralization

D. Producing movement, storing minerals, and distributing electrical signals

Answer: (B)

Explanation

Fibrocartilage provides tensile strength, bears weight, and resists compression. High flexibility from elastic fibers is more characteristic of elastic cartilage, not the mechanical role described for fibrocartilage.

10. Which collagen combination gives fibrocartilage tensile strength while retaining type II collagen?

A. Type I collagen together with type II collagen

B. Type I collagen together with type III collagen

C. Type II collagen together with elastic fibers

D. Type III collagen together with type IV collagen

Answer: (A)

Explanation

Fibrocartilage contains type I collagen, which contributes tensile strength, as well as type II collagen. Type II collagen with elastic fibers is associated with elastic cartilage rather than the defining collagen combination in fibrocartilage.

11. A cartilage cell is mature and lies within a lacuna; what is its main role?

A. It maintains and remodels the cartilage matrix.

B. It enables diffusion by supplying water to the matrix.

C. It forms the perichondrium at the cartilage periphery.

D. It produces new matrix and drives appositional growth.

Answer: (A)

Explanation

Chondrocytes are mature chondroblasts trapped in lacunae, where they maintain and remodel the cartilage matrix. Matrix synthesis associated with appositional growth is characteristic of chondroblasts.

12. A highly flexible cartilage sample contains elastic fibers along with type II collagen. Which additional feature is expected?

A. It contains type I collagen for tensile strength

B. It has a perichondrium

C. It lacks a perichondrium

D. It is replaced by bone during endochondral ossification

Answer: (B)

Explanation

Elastic cartilage contains elastic fibers and type II collagen, and it has a perichondrium. The absence of a perichondrium is a characteristic of fibrocartilage, making that a plausible but incorrect alternative.