1. Features of cartilage; hyaline cartilage. A
Features of cartilage; hyaline cartilage. A. General features of cartilage in an adult. All cartilage, except fibrocartilage and articular (hyaline) cartilage, is covered with a dense connective tissue perichondrium, which contains blood vessels, progenitor cells, and chondroblasts. Chondrocytes reside in lacunae in the matrix, and their cell division forms isogenous (clonal) cell groups. The matrix immediately surrounding cells (territorial matrix) differs in composition from the interterritorial matrix between isogenous groups. B. Hyaline cartilage from the larynx. The perichondrium is composed of thick bundles of collagen and a deeper, more cellular layer that contains chondroblasts. Below the cellular layer of the perichondrium are individual chondrocytes separated by matrix, which quickly adopts the dark staining characteristics of mature matrix. The interterritorial matrix (ITM) between the isogenous groups of chondrocytes stains less darkly than the territorial matrix. Chondrocytes in a group are separated by septae (arrow). C. An aggrecan–hyaluronic acid complex in the matrix of hyaline cartilage. Each aggrecan core protein can carry about 100 glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), typically chondroitin sulfate and keratan sulfate, yielding a molecular weight of two to three million. Dozens of aggrecans may be linked to hyaluronic acid, forming a single polymer several microns long. D. Hyaline cartilage at an articular surface. Chondrocytes are found as individual cells in lacunae that extend up to the surface of this tissue, which covers the ends of bones at synovial joints.
Source: CARTILAGE, The Big Picture: Histology
Citation: Ash R, Morton DA, Scott SA. The Big Picture: Histology; 2017 Available at: Accessed: November 10, 2017
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