Histology

Lecture 5 Cartilage and Bone

 Cartilage
• Connective tissue with very firm
extracellular matrix
• Supports soft tissues (nose, ear, trachea)
• Shock absorption and friction reduction in
joints
• Development and growth of long bones
• Chondrocytes in lacunae and
extracellular matrix
• Matrix: hyaluronic acid, proteoglycans,
glycoproteins
 Forms of Cartilage

• Hyaline: most common, much type 2

collagen
• Elastic: elastic fibers, type 2 collagen
• Fibrocartilage: dense network of type 1
collagen; high stress and weight bearing
 More Features of Cartilage
• Avascular; the vasculature in adjacent
perichondrium
• In absence of perichondrium, synovial
fluid
• No innervation
• No lymphatic vessels
• Chondrocytes have low metabolic
activity
 Perichondrium

• Sheath of dense irregular connective

tissue and vasculature surrounding
cartilage
• Articular cartilage lacks perichondrium,
nutrients from synovial fluid
 Hyaline Cartilage

• Blue-white in color
• In embryo it serves as skeleton until
replacement by bone, acts as template
• Epiphyseal plate in long bone growth
• Joint surfaces, nose, larynx, trachea,
bronchi, ends of ribs adjacent to sternum
 Hyaline Cartilage Matrix
• Amorphous ground substance with
proteoglycans such as chondroitin sulfate and
keratin sulfate
• Territorial matrix adjacent to chondrocytes has
much glycosaminoglycan and stains darker
than non-territorial matrix
Hyaline cartilage
Hyaline cartilage with
perichondrium on outer
surfaces
Hyaline Cartilage Perichondrium
• Found around all HC except joint HC
• Dense irregular connective tissue
necessary for growth and maintenance
of cartilage
• Contains many undifferentiated
mesenchyme cell that may differentiate
into new chondrocytes
Hyaline Cartilage Chondrocytes
• Outer ones elliptical with long axis
parallel to surface
• Deeper ones round, may be in groups
of up to 8 - isogenous group
• Lined up in rows in epiphyseal plate
• Often shrunken in histological sections
 Cartilage Growth

• Interstitial growth: mitotic division of

existing chondrocytes and production of
matrix
• Appositional growth: differentiation of
new chondrocytes from stem cells and
production of matrix at surface
 Elastic Cartilage

• Auricle of ear, external auditory canal,

eustachian tube, epiglottis, cuneiform
cartilage of larynx
• Similar to HC, many elastic fibers
• Perichondrium
 Fibrocartilage
• Intervetebral disks, tendon and ligament
attachment to bone, pubic symphysis
• Combination of HC and dense regular
connective tissue
• Usually merges with adjacent dense
connective tissue
• Chondrocytes often in rows or groups
• Matrix acidophilic due to high collagen
• No perichondrium
Fibrocartilage
 Intervertebral Disks

• Between vertebrae
• Annulus fibrosis of fibrocartilage in
overlapping layers in 90 degree pattern
• Nucleus pulposus gel matrix rich in
hyaluronic acid
• Herniation results from rupture of
annulus fibrosis and expulsion of
nucleus pulposus which can compress
spinal cord or nerves