ABSTRACT
Cartilage is a type of dense connective tissue composed of collagenous or elastic bers and chondrocytes embedded in a rm gel-like matrix of proteoglycans. It is an avascular tissue with extremely limited capacity for repair. It appears in three different forms in the human body (Figure 21.1):
1. Elastic cartilage-found in noses and ears (contains elastin, a collagen type II, scattered throughout the matrix);
2. Fibrocartilage-found in ligaments, tendons, intervertebral disks (composed primarily of collagen type I);
3. Hyaline cartilage-found in lining bones in the joints (called articular cartilage [AC]), such as the knee, the ankle, the hip, the shoulder, and in any other moving joint such as the ngers (made predominantly of type II collagen).
