Articular cartilage is hyaline cartilage and is 2 to 4 mm thick. Unlike most tissues, articular cartilage does not have blood vessels, nerves, or lymphatics. It is composed of a dense extracellular matrix (ECM) with a sparse distribution of highly specialized cells called chondrocytes.
Is articular cartilage the same as hyaline cartilage?
Articular cartilage is hyaline cartilage on the articular surfaces of bones, and lies inside the joint cavity of synovial joints, bathed in synovial fluid produced by the synovial membrane, which lines the walls of the cavity.
What is composed of hyaline cartilage?
Hyaline cartilage is found in the synovial joints and assists the motion of joints. It is composed of chondrocytes and extracellular matrix. Chondrocytes plays a major role in the organization of extracellular matrix, which is responsible for the biomechanical properties of cartilage tissue.
What is articular cartilage composed of where is it found?
Articular cartilage is found only in diarthroidal joints (synovial joints), and is comprised of hyaline cartilage – a particularly smooth type of cartilage which allows for easy articulation, increased weight distribution, and shock absorption.
Does hyaline cartilage contain elastic fibers?
Specialized Forms of Cartilage Hyaline cartilage provides mechanical support for the respiratory tree, nose, articular surfaces, and developing bones. Elastic cartilage has abundant elastic fibers in addition to collagen, making the matrix much more elastic than hyaline cartilage.
Is hyaline cartilage eosinophilic?
Elastic cartilage. Observe that there are chondrocytes within lacunae just as in hyaline cartilage, but note the eosinophilic, fibrillar matrix due to the presence of elastic fibers. As with hyaline cartilage, fibrils of type II collagen are present, but they cannot be seen in the light microscope.
Is hyaline cartilage found in intervertebral discs?
The intervertebral disk end plate comprises a thin layer of hyaline cartilage that is bonded to an underlying layer of perforated cortical bone. On the disk side, the hyaline cartilage blends in with the nucleus and annulus.
Does hyaline cartilage have elastic fibers?
Hyaline cartilage is the most common type of cartilage. Homogenous and basophilic. High in elastic fibers. High in collagen fibers.
How is hyaline cartilage different from elastic cartilage or fibrocartilage?
Hyaline cartilage is easily distinguished from elastic and fibrocartilage because of the homogeneous (no fibers are visible) extracellular matrix (ECM) . Elastic cartilage (like hyaline cartilage) has chondrocytes located in lacunae and the tissue is surrounded by a perichondrium .
How can you tell the difference between hyaline cartilage and fibrocartilage?
The main difference between fibrocartilage and hyaline cartilage is that fibrocartilage is stiff and contains many collagen fibers whereas hyaline cartilage is a soft cartilage that contains fewer fibers.
