CARTILAGE

Function:
1. Mechanical support of soft tissues
2. Cover articular surfaces of the bone (sliding of joints)
3. Development and growth of the bone (short and long bones)
4. Avascular (has no blood vessels, nutrients pass by difusion from blood
vessels in perichondrium through the cartilage matrix - toward
chondrocytes
5. Without nerve supply

Epiphyseal
plate: hyaline
cartilage
COMPOSITION
Cells : chondroblasts, chondrocytes
Cells lie in lacunas (lacuna = cavity)
Intercellular space = cartilage matrix: fibers + amorphous ground substance

Ground substance:
1. GAG (chondroitin sulphate, keratansulphate, hyaluronic acid)
2. Structural glycoproteins: Chondronectin
Chondronectin is a cartilage matrix protein that specifically mediates the attachment of
chondrocytes to type II collagen.

Collagen fibrils (type II colagen

AGS:
Hyaluronic acid
GAG
proteoglycans
 Types of cartilages:
cartilage matrix contains: chondrocytes:
1. HYALINE - collagen type II. isogenous groups
2. ELASTIC - elastic fibers and collagen type II. single or pairs
3. FIBROCARTILAGE - collagen type I. and collagen type II. spindle shaped, single

1.
2. 3.1

3
4
ORIGIN of the CARTILAGE: mesenchymal
Chondroblasts develope from embryonic mesenchymal cells
Mesenchymal cells – chondroblasts - chondrocytes
PERICHONDRIUM
- covers surface of the cartilage
Structure: DENSE CONNECTIVE TISSUE REGULLAR (collagen type I., fibroblasts)
Function:
1. Mechanical support
2. Nutrition (contains blood vessels → difusion of substances toward cartilage)
3. Growth of the cartilage (appositional)
4. Regeneration
5. Not present:
- on articular surfaces (nutrients come from synovial fluid);
- fibrocartilage doesn´t have perichondrium !!!
GROWTH OF THE CARTILAGE
1. APPOSITIONAL GROWTH – proliferation of chondroblasts from perichondrium
2. INTERSTITIAL GROWTH – chondrocyte proliferates (repeated mitotic cycles) and produce new
group of cells = isogenous group

Apositional growth
Interstitial growth
– formation of isogenous
groups

1. Oval isogenous 2. Columns of

groups isogenous groups
during ossification
Interstitial growth
Mitotic division of existing chondrocytes produce isogenous groups:
• in early phases of cartilage formation
• in epiphyseal plate of long bone
• in articular cartilage
HYALINE CARTILAGE
Most common
• nasal septum, larynx, trachea, sternal ends of the ribs
• articular surfaces (no perichondrium!)
• precursor of bone in developing skeleton (cartilage is gradually replaced by bone)
• in epiphyseal plate (growing plate) of the long bones

Perichondrium
Below perichondrium - spindle shaped chondroblasts
In the centre - oval chondrocytes
single and isogenous groups (3 – 8 cells)
A. Territorial matrix (capsular) B. Interterritorial matrix
– basophilic, metachromatic, PAS+ – contains type collagen II. and ground substance
- contains only GAG, no fibrils
ELASTIC CARTILAGE
In: external ear, external auditory tube, epiglottis, part of small laryngeal cartilages

Structure:
perichondrium on the surface;
Chondroblasts – spindle shaped below perichondrium, oval chondrocytes single or in pairs;
Chondrocytes in lacunae, surrounded by basophilic capsule (territorial matrix)
Cartilage matrix:
- interterritorial matrix: elastic fibers + collagen type II. + ground substance;
Elastic fibers need selective staining: orcein or resorcinfuchsin
- territorial matrix – basophilic capsule around chondrocytes;
FIBROCARTILAGE
In: intervertebral discs, some articular cartilages where is attachment of ligaments, symphisis pubis
Chondrocytes are oval or spindle shaped
single, rarely in isogenous groups
Cartilage matrix: predominantly collagen type I. (eosinophilic!) & less of collagen type II.
• Collagen type I. fibers form bundles, have paralel arrangement
• chondrocytes in rows between fibers
Paralel thick collagen fibers ↑
INTERVERTEBRAL DISC
• shock absorber
• Situated between articular surfaces of neighbouring vertebrae
• Have 2 components:
Annulus fibrosus – fibrocartilage, concentric layers of thick bundles of collagen fibers +chondrocytes
Nucleus pulposus – in the centre; ground substance + few cells, collagen type II.