Anat: Cartilage

Question 1

What is the main ground substance for collagen and elastin?

Answer 1

Proteoglycans
Hyaluronic acid
Water

Question 2

What are the principle components of cartilage?

Answer 2

Collagen
Ground Substance
Cells

Question 3

What is the function of cartilage?

Answer 3

Buffer impact forces, enable movement with minimal friction due to its smooth surface

Question 4

What characteristic means that cartilage can repair itself?

Answer 4

It is a live tissue

Question 5

What are the characteristics of hyaline cartilage?

Answer 5

Contains special form of isoform called Collagen II, its molecules have a slightly different amino acid composition than Collagen I found in interstitial connective tissue, ligaments or bone

Question 6

What is the principle proteoglycan in cartilage? Why is this?

Answer 6

Aggrecan
-Dense packaging of collagen and aggrecan so significant energy is required for hydration water to move when cartilage is rhythmically compressed and relaxed (optimal for buffering the high impact forces in the knee and ankle joints during running)

Question 7

What are proteoglycans?

Answer 7

Long protein chains with sugar chains attached at dense intervals over a large portion in a bottle brush like manner

-depending on proteoglycan, the sugar chains vary in composition but mostly the sugars are negatively charged

Question 8

Why is water important in cartilage?

Answer 8

Due to their unequal distribution of electrons within the molecule, water molecules align themselves around a charged molecule and are restricted in their mobility to create a hydration shell

Question 9

What does the large negative charge cause to happen?

Answer 9

These heteropolysaccharide chains tend to be extended in solution, they repel each other and are surrounded by a shell of water molecules.