Anatomy of Cartilage

Cartilage

• Cartilage is a tough but flexible tissue that makes up 65-80% of water, although this decreases with age.
• The remaining 20-35% is a gel-like substance called the matrix, which gives cartilage its form and function.
• The perichondrium is a dense layer of fibrous connective tissue that covers many types of cartilage in the body.
• Cartilage is composed of a dense extracellular matrix (ECM) with a sparse distribution of highly specialized cells called chondrocytes.
• The ECM is principally composed of water, collagen, and proteoglycans, with other non-collagenous proteins and glycoproteins present in lesser amounts.

Types of Cartilage

• Hyaline Cartilage: has a high proportion of amorphous matrix, is the most widespread type, and plays an important part in the growth in length of long bones.
• Hyaline Cartilage Locations: articular surfaces of movable joints, walls of respiratory tracts (nose, larynx, trachea, and bronchi), costal cartilages, and epiphyseal plates of long bones.
• Fibrocartilage: has many collagen fibers embedded in a small amount of matrix, acts as a cushion within joints, and helps manage compression forces and reduces stress placed on joints.
• Fibrocartilage Locations: secondary cartilaginous joints (pubic symphysis, annulus fibrosis of intervertebral discs, etc.), medial and lateral menisci of the knee joint, tendons and ligaments attachment to bone, and Ulnar Triangular Fibrocartilage complex (TFCC).
• Elastic Cartilage: possesses large numbers of elastic fibers embedded in matrix, is flexible, and is found in the auricle of the ear, external auditory meatus, auditory tube, epiglottis, and tip of the nose.

Blood Vessels

• Blood Circulation: blood circulates inside closed transport systems.
• Types of Blood Vessels: arteries, arterioles, capillary beds, venules, and veins.
• Arteries: carry blood away from the heart, except for pulmonary circulation and umbilical vessels of a fetus; have thick muscular walls, lots of elastic tissue, relatively small lumen, and blood under high pressure with rapid and pulsatile flow.
• Artery Characteristics: no valves.

Learn about the structure and composition of cartilage, including its water content, matrix, and perichondrium. Discover the functions and properties of cartilage in the human body.