Shaping of the cartilage | Cartilage

Shaping of the cartilage

There are three different types of cartilage tissue:

  • The hyaline cartilage
  • The fibrous cartilage and
  • The elastic cartilage

Hyaline cartilage

During the embryonic phase in humans, most of the later bony skeleton is preformed with cartilage. In adolescents, the epiphyseal joints (growth joints) within the long bones consist of hyaline cartilage, which is replaced by bone only after growth has been completed. In adults, hyaline cartilage covers the joint surfaces, forming the sternal part of the ribs – i.e. the ribs on the sternum -, part of the nasal septum, the laryngeal skeleton and the braces of the trachea and the large bronchi. You can find everything about hyaline cartilage at: hyaline cartilage

Fibrocartilage

Fiber cartilage is found in the human body wherever shock absorbers are needed. Mainly as an: A crucial difference to hyaline articular cartilage is the amount of collagen fibers. These are significantly more abundant than the basic substance in fibrocartilage.

This means that the fibers are not masked by the basic substance and are visible to the naked eye. Fibrocartilage is very similar to firm connective tissue. This is why it is sometimes called connective tissue cartilage.The chondrons here usually consist of only one or two cells and are arranged parallel to the individual fiber bundles.

Since fibrous cartilage contains both type I and type II collagen, the transitions to the hyaline cartilage on the one hand and to the firm connective tissue on the other are fluid. The adaptation to tensile stress is the main focus of fibrocartilage.

  • The spine
  • And at the knee joint in the form of meniscus (knee)
  • And discus (intervertebral disc), the intervertebral discs of the spine,
  • In the symphysis
  • The articular cartilage of the temporomandibular and clavicular joints
  • And in the areas of tendons and ligaments that are subjected to pressure.