JARINGAN TULANG RAWAN

Cartilage tissue
dr. Erika Diana Risanti, M.Sc
Bagian Histologi FK UMS
 Cartilage Tissue
• Cartilage is a tough, flexible form of connective tissue, characterized
by an extracellular matrix (ECM) with high concentrations of
glycosaminoglycans and proteoglycans, which interact with collagen a
nd elastic fibers.

• Variations in the composition of these matrix components produce

three types of cartilage adapted to local biomechanical needs.

• The firm consistency of the cartilage ECM allows the tissue to bear
mechanical stresses without permanent distortion.
• Respiratory tract, ears, and nose  forms the framework
supporting soft tissues
• Joints  facilitates movements, provides shockabsorbing and
sliding regions
• Guides development and growth of long bones, before and after
birth
COMPOSITION OF Cartilage Tissue
Extracellular
matrix
Condrocytes • Ground
subtances
• Fiber

Cartilage

 Chondrocytes synthesize and secrete the ECM

 Chondrocytes located in matrix cavities called lacunae
 Collagen, hyaluronic acid, proteoglycans, and small amounts
of several glycoproteins are the principal macromolecules
present in all types of cartilage matrix
Cartilage Tissue in our body
 Vascularization of cartilage

• Cartilage is avascular and receives nutrients by diffusion from capillaries

in adjacent connective tissue (perichondrium).

• In some instances, large blood vessels traverse cartilage to supply other

tissues, but these vessels release few nutrients to the cartilage.
Cartilage also lacks lymphatic vessels and nerves.

• Perichondrium is a sheath of dense connective tissue that surrounds

cartilage in most places, forming an interface between the cartilage and
the tissues supported by the cartilage.

• Articular cartilage, which covers the surfaces of bones in movable joints,

lacks perichondrium and is sustained by the diffusion of oxygen and
nutrients from the synovial fluid.
 Hyaline cartilage

• Hyaline (Gr. hyalos, glassy) cartilage, the most common of the three
forms

• Homogeneous and semitransparent in the fresh state.

• Located in the articular surfaces of movable joints, in the walls of

larger respiratory passages (nose, larynx, trachea, bronchi), in the
ventral ends of ribs, where they articulate with the sternum, and in the
epiphyseal plates of long bones, where it makes possible longitudinal
bone growth.

• In the embryo, hyaline cartilage forms the temporary skeleton that is

gradually replaced by bone.
 Matrix of Hyaline cartilage

 The dry weight of hyaline cartilage is 40% collagen embedded in a firm,

hydrated gel of proteoglycans and structural glycoproteins.

 In routine histology preparations, the proteoglycans cause the matrix to

be generally basophilic and the thin collagen fibrils are barely discernible.

 Most of the collagen in hyaline cartilage is type II collagen, although sma

ll amounts of several minor types are also present.

 Aggrecan (250 kD) is the most abundant proteoglycan of hyaline cartilage

 Another important component of cartilage matrix is the structural

multiadhesive glycoprotein chondronectin. It binds specifically to GAGs,
collagen type II, and integrins, mediating the adherence of chondrocytes
to the ECM.
the interaction between type II collagen fibrils and A diagram of the transitional area between the perichon
proteoglycans linked to hyaluronic acid drium and the cartilage matrix
chondrocytes of Hyaline cartilage

 Chondroblasts, a young chondrocytes, located in the periphery of

cartilage, have an elliptic shape
 Deeper in the cartilage, they are round and may appear in groups of up
to eight cells that originate from mitotic divisions of a single chondrocyte
and are called isogenous aggregates.
 Chondrocytes respire under low-oxygen tension.
 Hyaline cartilage cells metabolize glucose mainly by anaerobic glycolysis
to produce lactic acid as the end product.
 Nutrients from the blood diffuse from the perichondrium to reach the
deeper chondrocytes.
 Chondrocytes synthesis are accelerated by many hormones and growth
factors. A major regulator of hyaline cartilage growth is pituitary derived
growth hormone (somatotropin) which acts indirectly by promoting the
insulin-like growth factors (somatomedins), which directly stimulates
proliferation of chondrocytes.
Figure 7-3 McGraw-Hill Companies
Mescher, AL: Junquiera’s Basic Histology 13th edi
tion

• Except in the articular cartilage of joints, all hyaline cartilage is covered

by a layer of dense connective tissue, the perichondrium.
• The perichondrium consists largely of collagen type I fibers and
fibroblasts.
• Among these fibroblasts in the inner layer of the perichondrium are
progenitor cells for chondroblasts that divide and differentiate into
chondrocytes.
Clinical application
Figure 7-4 McGraw-Hill Companies
Mescher, AL: Junquiera’s Basic Histology 13th edi
tion

 Elastic cartilage is essentially similar to hyaline cartilage except that it

contains an abundant network of elastic fibers  yellowish color
 Demonstration of the elastic fibers usually requires stains such as orcein
or resorcin fuchsin.
 FIBROCARTILAGE

 Fibrocartilage takes various forms but is essentially a combination of

hyaline cartilage and dense connective tissue with gradual transition
between these tissues

 Chondrocytes of fibrocartilage occur singly and in aligned isogenous

aggregates and produce matrix containing type II collagen.

 Regions with chondrocytes and hyaline matrix are separated by other

regions containing bundles of type I collagen and scattered fibroblasts

 The relative scarcity of proteoglycans makes the matrix of fibrocartilage

more acidophilic than that of hyaline or elastic cartilage.
 FIBROCARTILAGE

Figure 7-5 McGraw-Hill Companies

Mescher, AL: Junquiera’s Basic Histology 13th edi
tion
 CHONDROGENESIS

 All cartilage forms from embryonic mesenchyme in the process of

chondrogenesis
 The first indication of cell differentiation is the rounding up of the
mesenchymal cells, which retract their extensions, multiply rapidly, and
become more densely packed together.
 The dividing cells are typically called chondroblasts and
chondrocytes when proliferation has ceased; both have basophilic
cytoplasm rich in RER for collagen synthesis
 Production of the ECM encloses the cells in their lacunae and then
gradually separates chondroblasts from one another.
 During embryonic development, the differentiation of cartilage takes
place primarily from the center outward; therefore the more central cells
have the characteristics of chondrocytes, whereas the peripheral cells
are typical chondroblasts. The superficial mesenchyme forms the perich
ondrium.
 repair

 Except in young children, damaged cartilage undergoes slow and often

incomplete repair, primarily by activity of cells in the perichondrium,
which invade the injured area and produce new cartilage.

 In extensively damaged areas the perichondrium produces a scar of

dense connective tissue instead of forming new cartilage.

 The poor capacity of cartilage for repair or regeneration is due in part to

the avascularity of this tissue.
Figure 7-6 McGraw-Hill Companies
Mescher, AL: Junquiera’s Basic Histology 13th edi
tion

Mesenchymal cell Chondroblast Separated cells Isogenous cell aggregates

The precursor for all types Mitosis and early Chondroblasts are then In mature cartilage, this
of cartilage. Differentiation produces a separated from one interstitial mitotic activity
tissue with condensations another again by their pro ceases and all chondrocyte
of rounded cells duction of various matrix typically become more wid
components ely separated by their
production of matrix.
 CHONDROGENESIS

 Once initially formed, the cartilage tissue enlarges both by

 Interstitial growth, resulting from the mitotic division of preexisting
chondroblasts
 Appositional growth, which involves differentiation of new
chondroblasts from the perichondrium
 In both cases, the synthesis of matrix contributes greatly to the growth
of the cartilage.
 Appositional growth of cartilage is more important during postnatal
development
 Interstitial growth in the articular cartilage and epiphyseal plates of long
bones is important in increasing the length of long bones
 In articular cartilage, cells and matrix near the articulating surface are
gradually worn away and must be replaced from within, because there
is no perichondrium to add cells by appositional growth.
Summary of function
Thank you