Cartilage Flashcards
What type of collagen is cartilage made from?
Type 2 collagen
Where are cells of cartilage found?
In spaces called Lacunae
What are the cell types found in cartilage?
Chrondroblasts
Chrondrocytes
What are the physical characteristics of cartilage?
Toughness and flexibility
What are the four types of cartilage?
Hyaline (glassy)
Articular (on articular surface)
Fibrocartilage
Elastic
Is cartilage a vascular tissue?
No
Where do the cels of cartilage get their nutrients from?
From diffusion of nutrients no oxygen fro the vascularized perichondrium (outer layer)
Where do nutrients diffuse through ?
The ground substance
When can pathology occur in cartilage?
When central cells die (e.g. Due to lack of diffusion) and the matrix calcified
What kind of repair occurs in cartilage?
Incomplete repair
Where is hyaline cartilage found?
Tracheal and bronchial rings
Epiphyseal plates
Larynx
Costal cartilage
Auditory tube
Where is articular cartilage found?
At joints, it is a special type of hyaline cartilage (has no perichondrium)
Forms a surface contact between bones
How is articular cartilage maintained?
Synovial fluid provides it with nutrients
How are collagen fibers oriented in articular cartilage?
Perpendicular to the surface (resisting compression)
Ends of collage fibers are bent to form a wear-resistant surface
Where is fibrocartilage found?
Intervertebral disc
Pubic symphysis
What are the characteristics for fibrocartilage?
Type I collage is mixed with type II collagen (similar to hyaline)
Has no perichondrium
Describe the fibrocartilage of the intervertebral disk
Annulus fibrosis forms a ‘doughnut rim’ of type I collagen
Nucleus pulposis forms a core of soft tissue
What is a slipped disk in the IVD?
When the annulus break, the pulposis protrudes through the break and can impinge on the spinal cord or spinal nerve to cause pain and other problems
What are some of the characteristics of elastic cartilage?
Many elastic fibers
Type II collagen
Flexible and bend without breaking
Where is elastic cartilage found?>
Pinnae of the ears
Epiglottis
Nose
How does cartilage form?
Mesenchymal cells (stem cells) produce fibroblasts and chondroblasts (protochondral first)
Collagen fibers produced by those cells form a pose network in the membrane
What kind of growth is seen in cartilage in the center?
Interstitial growth
Where do fibroblasts make the fibrous perichondrium?
At the edge of cartilage
What kind of growth do fibroblast exhibit?
Appositional growth
In mature cartilage what kind of growth only occurs?
Appositional
What is interstitial growth?
Cell division and matrix production within cartilage while it is still soft
What is appositional growth
Occurs from cells in the cellular perichondrium;
New cells and matrix are added onto the outside of cartilage
This type of growth continues into adulthood
