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→Structure and Function of Cartilage
==Structure and Function of Cartilage==
==Structure and Function of Cartilage==
*Function: resist compression, provide resilience and support at sites where flexibility is desired
*Structure:
**'''Chondrocytes''': reside within '''lacunae''' within ECM synthesizing '''matrix'''
**Type II Collagen (except fibrocartilage), proteoglycans with associated glycosaminoglycans and hyaluronic acid
**75% Water
**Avascular: nutrients/waste move via diffusion
**Perichondrium is composed of two layers:
***Fibrous: outer, dense irregular connective tissue
***Chondrogenic: inner, flattened cells that differentiate to chondrocytes
*Types of Cartilage
**'''Hyaline Cartilage'''
***Most abundant in the body: glassy, translucent sheen
***Found in nose, trachea, bronchi, ventral ends of ribs and sternal attachmont
***Surrounded by perichondrium
***At sites of articulation, providing resilient frictionless surface that resists compression
***Found at epiphyseal growth plates
**'''Elastic Cartilage'''
***Yellow appearance
***found in auricular cartilage, larynx, eustacian tube, and epiglottis
***Surrounded by perichondrium
***Resiliance with added flexibility
**'''Fibrocartilage'''
***More collagen ('''Type I''') and less proteglycans than hyaline
***Resists high tensional strain
***Often in transition with hyaline
***Found in intervertebral discs, tendon/ligament attachment to bone, joint menisci, and articular surface of some joints (such as the temperomandibular)
***NO perichondrium