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CARTILAGE - No lymphatic vessels or nerves
- Characterized by an extracellular matrix
enriched with macromolecules that interact
with collagen & elastic fibers
o Glycosaminoglycans
o Proteoglycans
o Collagen
o Hyaluronic acid
o Small amounts of several
glycoproteins
- specialized form of connective tissue in
which the firm consistency of the
extracellular matrix
o allows the tissue to bear mechanical
stresses without permanent
distortion
o support soft tissues
o a shock-absorbing & sliding area for
joints & facilitates bone movements
o is essential for the development of
long bones before & after birth
- consists of
o cells – chondrocytes
o an extensive ECM composed of
fibers & ground substance
- its firm gel-like consistency depends on
o electrostatic bonds between
(because collagen & elastin are
flexible)
 collagen fibers
 the glycosaminoglycan side
chains of matrix
proteoglycans
o the binding of water (solvation
water) to the negatively charged
glycosaminoglycan chains that
extend from the proteoglycan core
proteins
 acts as shock absorber or
biochemical spring
 great functional importance,
esp. in articular cartilages
- 3 Forms: (differ in matrix composition)
o Hyaline cartilage
 Collagen Type II
 Most widespread
o Elastic Cartilage
 More pliable & distensible
 Collagen type II + elastic
fibers
o Fibrocartilage
 Dense network of coarse
type I collagen fibers
- Avascular – not penetrated by blood vessels
- Nourished by diffusion of nutrients from
capillaries in adjacent connective tissue
(perichondrium) or synovial fluid from joint
cavities
- Its amount is progressively reduced in
postnatal life, but it continues to play an
important role in the growth & length of
bones
- Location (adults):
o Joint surfaces of the limb bones
o Ventral ends of the limbs
o Intervertebral discs of spine
o Nose
o Larynx
o trachea
collagen & elastin
- both are flexible
perichondrium
- a layer of fusiform cells & collagen fibers that
envelops the center of chondrification
- a sheath of dense connective tissue that
surrounds cartilage in most places, forming
an interface between the cartilage and the
tissue supported by the cartilage
- harbors the vascular supply for the avascular
cartilage and also contains nerves and
lymphatic vessels
- is not present in articular cartilage
- essential for growth & maintenance of
cartilage
- rich in collagen type I fibers
- contains numerous fibroblasts
- also consist of chondroblasts
o cells found in the innermost layer of
perichondrium
o easily differentiate into chondrocytes
- where nutrients from the blood cross to
reach more deeply placed cartilage cells
o mechanisms involved:
 diffusion
 transport of water & solute
promoted by the pumping
action of intermittent
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cartilage compression &  Proteoglycans – present in

decompression higher concentrations
- its cells continue to divide & add more cells  Chondroitin 4-
to the periphery of the expanding center of sulfate
chondrification  Chondroitin 6-
- in its interior, the cells begin to secrete sulfate
hyaline matrix around themselves  Keratan sulfate
↓  Up to 200 of these
Moves the chondrocytes apart are noncovalently
↓ associated with long
Isolated in small cavities called lacunae molecules of
hyaluronic acid,
ARTICULAR CARTILAGE forming
- covers the surfaces of the bones of movable proteoglycan
joints aggregates that
- devoid of perichondrium interact with specific
- bathed by lubricating synovial fluid sites on the cross-
- sustained by the diffusion of oxygen & banded collagen
nutrients from the synovial fluid fibers
- provides a very smooth surface that allows  Resemble
an almost frictionless movement of the joint bottlebrushes
- chondrocytes  structural glycoproteins
o near its surface: small, elongated &  chondronectin
flattened parallel to the articular oa
surface macromolecule
o deeper: larger & more rounded that binds
o are exceptionally long-lived specifically to
- their collagen fibers are arranged to best GAGs &
resist the great stresses to which they are collagen type II
subjected in weight bearing fibers, mediating
- does become thinner and less cellular with the adherence
advancing age, as cells degenerate without of chondrocytes
being replaced to extracellular
matrix
o Collagen types IX, X, XI & others are
HYALINE CARTILAGE frequently present
- fresh: bluish-white & translucent  Serve to cross-link &
- in the embryo: temporary skeleton unit that is stabilize the network of type
gradually replaced by bone II collagen fibers
- in adult, they are located in the:
o articular surfaces of the movable Territorial or capsular matrix
joints - The cartilage matrix surrounding each
o walls of larger respiratory passages chondrocyte is rich in GAG & poor in
 nose collagen
 larynx
 trachea HISTOGENESIS
 bronchi
o ventral ends of ribs, where they Mesenchymal cells
articulate with the sternum ↓
o epiphyseal plate Round up
 where it is responsible for ↓
the longitudinal growth of They retract their extensions (cellular processes),
bone then multiply rapidly
- matrix: ↓
o 40% of the dry weight of hyaline Form mesencymal condensations of chondroblasts
cartilage consists of collagen (type (constitute a center of chondrification)
II) embedded in a firm, hydrated gel ↓
of Chondroblasts
↓

Synthesis & deposition of the matrix then begin
↓ differentiation of
Chondroblasts are separated from one another
* during development, the differentiation of cartilage
takes place from the center outward
* therefore,
* more central cells have the characteristics of
chondrocytes
* peripheral cells are typical chondroblasts
GROWTH OF CARTILAGE
- is attributable to 2 processes:
o interstitial growth
 addition of cells at its
periphery
 resulting from the mitotic
divisions of preexisting
chondrocytes
 occurs only during the early
phases of cartilage
formation, when it increases
tissue mass by expanding
the cartilage matrix from
within
 also occurs in the
 epiphyseal plates
of long bones –
increase the length
of long bones &
provide a cartilage
model for
endochondral bone
formation
 within articular
cartilage - as the
cells and matrix near
the articulating
surface are
gradually worn
away, the cartilage
must be replaced
from within, since
there is no
perichondrium there
to add cells by
apposition
 In cartilage found elsewhere
in the body, interstitial
growth becomes less
pronounced, as the matrix
becomes increasingly rigid
from the cross-linking of
matrix molecules
o appositional growth
 accumulation of an
increasing amount of hyaline
matrix between cels
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 resulting from the
perichondrial cells
 growth in girth
 chondroblasts of
perichondrium proliferate
↓
Become chondrocytes once
they have surrounde
themselves with collagenous
matrix
↓
Incorporated into existing
cartilage
Chondrocytes
- synthesize & secrete the ECM
- located in matrix cavities – lacunae
- also able to depolymeriz the fibrous &
amorphous constituents of the surrounding
matrix to enlarge their lacunae – this is
shown most during the early stages of
endochondral ossification (replacement of
cartilage by bone)
hypertrophy of chondrocytes
↓
Lacunae enlarges
↓
the interterritorial matrix is reduced to thin plates or
spicules
↓
Become the sites of deposition of calcium phosphate
↓
The chondrocytes then degenerate & their lacunae
coalesce & are invaded by blood vessels from the
perichondrium, accompanied by cells that
differentiate into bone-forming cells, osteoblasts
- exhibit low metabolic activity since cartilage
is avascular
- @ periphery of hyaline cartilage:
o Young
o Have elliptic shape, with long axis
parallel to the surface
- Farther
o Round, hemispherical or roughly
triangular
o Appear in groups of up to 8 cells
(isogenous) originating from mitotic
divisions of a single chondrocyte
- They shrink, including the matrix, during
histological preparations
- In living tissues: they fill the lacunae
completely
- They respire under low O2 tension because
cartilage is devoid of blood capillaries
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- In hyaline cartilage, they metabolize glucose - essentially identical to hyaline cartilage

mainly by anaerobic glycolysis to produce except that it contains an abundant
lactic acid as the end product network of fine elastic fibrils in addition to
- Its function depends on a proper hormonal collagen type II fibrils
balance: o periphery: they are looser & seen to
o Synthesis of sulfated GAGs – continue into the perichondrium
 accelerated by growth - fresh: yellowish color, owing to the presence
hormone, of elastin
 thyroxine - frequently found to be gradually continuous
 testosterone with hyaline cartilage
 slowed by - possesses a perichondrium
 cortisone
 hydrocortisone FIBROCARTILAGE
 estradiol - a tissue intermediate bet. dense connective
o growth depends mainly on the tissue & hyaline cartilage
hypophyseal growth hormone, - found in
somatotropin o intervertebral disks
 does not act directly on  each is situated bet. 2
cartilage cells vertebrae & is held to them
 but promotes the synthesis by means of ligaments
of somatomedin C in the  2 components
liver, w/c acts directly on  annulus fibrosus
cartilage cells, promoting o Has an external
their growth layer of dense
connective tissue
- cytoplasm o Mainly composed of
o ribosome-rich overlapping laminae
o few mitochondria of fibrocartilage in
o rER which collagen
- adulthood: remain quiescent bundeles or
orthogonally
ELASTIC CARTILAGE arranged in adjacent
layers
o Multiple lamellae +
90° registration of
type I collagen fibers
in adjacent layers,
provide the disk with
unusual resilience
that enables it to
withstand the
pressures generated
by impinging
vertebrae
 Nucleus pulposus
- characteristics o Shock absorber to
o great pliability cushion the impact
o contains significant amounts of the of vertebrae
o Situated in the
protein elastin in the matrix
center of annulus
o greater flexibility than hyaline fibrosus
cartilage o Derived from
- chondrocytes exist singly or in pairs embryonic
- found in the: notochord
o auricle of the ear o Consist of a few
o walls of the external auditory rounded cells
canals embedded in a
viscous matrix rich
o auditory (Eustachian) tubes
in hyaluronic acid
o epiglottis & collagen type II
o cuneiform cartilage in the larynx o Gradually becomes
smaller with age
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o Partially replaced by severe pain & neurological

fibrocartilage
 Acts as lubricated cushion
that prevents adjacent
vertebrae from being eroded
by abrasive forces during
movement of the spinal
column
o attachments of certain ligaments
to the cartilaginous surface of
bones
o symphysis pubis
- always associated with dense connective
tissue and the 2 are often continuous w/o
clear line of demarcation
- contains chondrocytes (either singly or
isogenous groups), usually arranged in long
rows separated by coarse collagen type I
fibers – acidophilic
- numerous collagen fibers either form
o irregular bundles bet. groups of
chondrocytes
o or are aligned in parallel
arrangement along the columns of
chondrocytes
- chondrocyte’s interterritorial matrix is largely
replaced by the bundles of collagen
- acidophilic
- no well-defined perichondrium
chondroma
- benign tumors that rise from cartilage cells
chondrosarcoma
- malignant tumors that rise from cartilage
cells
disturbances
o The pain may be perceived in areas
innervated by the compressed nerve
fibers – usually the lower lumbar
region
DEGENERATIVE CHANGES
- hyaline cartilage is more susceptible to
degenerative aging processes
- common process:
calcification of the matrix
↓
Increase in the size & volume of chondrocytes
↓
Death
- Asbestiform degeneration
o Frequent in aged cartilage
o Due to the formation of localized
aggregates of thick, abnormal
collagen fibrils
POOR REGENERATION OF CARTILAGE TISSUE
- Except in young children, damaged cartilage
regenerates with difficulty & often
incompletely, by the activity of the
perichondrium (invades injured area &
generates new cartilage)
- In extensively damaged areas, the
perichondrium produces a scar of dense
connective tissue instead of forming new
cartilage

chondrodystrophies
- are a group of diseases characterized b
disturbance of cartilage growth & its
subsequent replacement by bone
- Ex. achondroplasia
o inherited disorder
o there is reduced proliferation of
chondrocytes in a form of dwarfism
in which the trunk is of normal length
but the extremities are very short

herniation of the intervertebral disk

- Rupture of the annulus fibrosus, which most
frequently occurs in the posterior region
where there are fewer collagen bundles,
results in expulsion of the nucleus pulposus
and a concomitant flattening of the disk
o Slipped disk – dislocation or
slipping of intervertebral disk from its
position between vertebrae
o If it moves toward spinal cord –
compression of nerves, then result in