Hyaline cartilage is the glass-like (hyaline) and

translucent In the field of optics, transparency (also called pellucidity or diaphaneity) is the physical property of allowing light to pass through the material without appreciable scattering of light. On a macroscopic scale (one in which the dimensions ...

cartilage found on many joint surfaces. It is also most commonly found in the ribs,

nose A nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which receive and expel air for respiration alongside the mouth. Behind the nose are the olfactory mucosa and the sinuses. Behind the nasal cavity, air next passes ...

, larynx, and

trachea The trachea, also known as the windpipe, is a cartilaginous tube that connects the larynx to the bronchi of the lungs, allowing the passage of air, and so is present in almost all air- breathing animals with lungs. The trachea extends from the ...

. Hyaline cartilage is pearl-gray in color, with a firm consistency and has a considerable amount of collagen. It contains no nerves or blood vessels, and its structure is relatively simple.

Structure

Hyaline cartilage is covered externally by a fibrous membrane known as the

perichondrium The perichondrium (from Greek el, περί, peri, around, label=none and el, χόνδρος, chondros, cartilage, label=none) is a layer of dense irregular connective tissue that surrounds the cartilage of developing bone. It consists of two se ...

or, when it's along articulating surfaces, the synovial membrane. This membrane contains vessels that provide the cartilage with nutrition through

diffusion Diffusion is the net movement of anything (for example, atoms, ions, molecules, energy) generally from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Diffusion is driven by a gradient in Gibbs free energy or chemica ...

. Hyaline cartilage matrix is primarily made of

type II collagen Type II collagen is the basis for hyaline cartilage, including the articular cartilages at joint surfaces. It is formed by homotrimers of collagen, type II, alpha 1 chains. It makes up 50% of all protein in cartilage and 85–90% of collagen of ...

and chondroitin sulphate, both of which are also found in

elastic cartilage Elastic cartilage, fibroelastic cartilage or yellow fibrocartilage is a type of cartilage present in the pinnae (auricles) of the ear giving it shape, provides shape for the lateral region of the external auditory meatus, medial part of the aud ...

. Hyaline cartilage exists on the sternal ends of the ribs, in the larynx, trachea, and bronchi, and on the articulating surfaces of bones. It gives the structures a definite but pliable form. The presence of collagen fibres makes such structures and joints strong, but with limited mobility and flexibility. Hyaline cartilage is the most prevalent type of cartilage. It also forms the temporary embryonic skeleton, which is gradually replaced by bone, and the skeleton of

elasmobranch Elasmobranchii () is a subclass of Chondrichthyes or cartilaginous fish, including sharks (superorder Selachii), rays, skates, and sawfish (superorder Batoidea). Members of this subclass are characterised by having five to seven pairs of g ...

fish.

Microanatomy

When a slice of hyaline cartilage is examined under the

microscope A microscope () is a laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic means being invisi ...

, it is shown to consist of cells ( chondrocytes) of a rounded or bluntly angular form, lying in groups of two or more in a granular, or almost homogeneous

matrix Matrix most commonly refers to: * ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise ** ''The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film ** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchis ...

. When arranged in groups of two or more, the chondrocytes have rounded, but generally straight outlines; where they are in contact with each other, and in the rest of their circumference, they are rounded. They consist of translucent protoplasm with fine interlacing filaments and minute granules are sometimes present. Embedded in this are one or two round nuclei, having the usual intranuclear network. The cells are contained in cavities in the matrix, called

cartilage lacunae In histology, a lacuna is a small space, containing an osteocyte in bone, or chondrocyte in cartilage. Bone The lacunae are situated between the lamellae, and consist of a number of oblong spaces. In an ordinary microscopic section, viewed by t ...

. These cavities are actually artificial gaps formed from the shrinking of the cells during the staining and setting of the tissue for examination. The inter-territorial space between the isogenous cell groups contains relatively more collagen fibres, allowing it to maintain its shape while the actual cells shrink, creating the lacunae. This constitutes the so-called 'capsule' of the space. Each lacuna is usually occupied by a single cell, but during mitosis, it may contain two, four, or even eight cells.

Articular cartilage

Articular cartilage is hyaline cartilage on the

articular The articular bone is part of the lower jaw of most vertebrates, including most jawed fish, amphibians, birds and various kinds of reptiles, as well as ancestral mammals. Anatomy In most vertebrates, the articular bone is connected to two oth ...

surfaces of

bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...

s, 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. Though it is often found in close contact with menisci and

articular disk The articular disk (or disc) is a thin, oval plate of fibrocartilage present in several joints which separates synovial cavities. This separation of the cavity space allows for separate movements to occur in each space. The presence of an articula ...

s, articular cartilage is not considered a part of either of these structures, which are made entirely of fibrocartilage. The articular cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM) has a highly specialized architecture that is zonally organized: the superficial zone consists mostly of collagen II fibers aligned parallel to the articular surface to resist shear forces, whereas the deep zone consists of the same fibers aligned perpendicularly to the bone interface to absorb compressive loads. The biochemical breakdown of the articular cartilage results in

osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis (OA) is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone which affects 1 in 7 adults in the United States. It is believed to be the fourth leading cause of disability in the w ...

– the most common type of joint disease. Osteoarthritis affects over 30 million individuals in the United States alone, and is the leading cause of chronic disability amongst the elderly.

Additional images

File:Gray300.png, A synovial joint with bone, articular cartilage, and articular disc shown. File:Elbow joint - deep dissection (anterior view, human cadaver).jpg, Elbow joint. Deep dissection. Anterior view.

References

External links