Cartilage
hideCartilage is a type of dense connective tissue existing within many joints. It is composed of specialized cells called chondrocytes that produce a large amount of extracellular matrix composed of collagen fibers, abundant ground substance rich in proteoglycan, and elastin fibers. Cartilage is classified in three types, elastic cartilage, hyaline cartilage and fibrocartilage, which differ in the relative amounts of these three main components.
Cartilage is found in many areas in the body, including the articular surface of the bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the bronchial tubes and the intervertebral discs. Its mechanical properties are intermediate between bone and dense connective tissue like tendon.
Unlike other connective tissues, cartilage does not contain blood vessels. The chondrocytes are fed by diffusion, helped by the pumping action generated by compression of the articular cartilage or flexion of the elastic cartilage. Thus, compared to other connective tissues, cartilage grows and repairs more slowly.
For more information about Cartilage, read the full article at
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News tagged with cartilage
Researchers explore link between human birth defect syndrome, cancer metastasis
Feb 03, 2010 |
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Some cells are natural rule-breakers. Neural crest cells for example, not only migrate throughout the body during development (most cells are more selective in their wandering), they are also more developmentally flexible ...
Growing cartilage -- no easy task
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Feb 01, 2010 |
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Northwestern University researchers are the first to design a bioactive nanomaterial that promotes the growth of new cartilage in vivo and without the use of expensive growth factors. Minimally invasive, the therapy activates ...
Computers do better than humans at measuring some radiology images
Jan 25, 2010 |
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Scientists have automated the measurement of a vital part of the knee in images with a computer program that performs much faster and just as reliably as humans who interpret the same images.
Synthetic, dissolving plates ease repairs of nasal septum defects
Jan 18, 2010 |
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Attaching cartilage to plates made of the resorbable material polydioxanone appears to facilitate corrective surgery on the nasal septum, the thin cartilage separating the two airways, according to a report in the January/February ...
Mending meniscals in children, improving diagnosis and recovery
Nov 02, 2009 |
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The meniscus is a rubber-like, crescent moon-shaped cartilage cushion that sits between the leg and thigh bone. Each knee has two menisci: one on the inside of the knee joint and one on the outside. In recent years, more ...
Bone formation from embryonic stem cells
Oct 22, 2009 |
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Jojanneke Jukes of the University of Twente, The Netherlands, has succeeded in growing bone tissue with the help of embryonic stem cells for the first time.
Growing Cartilage from Stem Cells
Oct 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Damaged knee joints might one day be repaired with cartilage grown from stem cells in a laboratory, based on research by Professor Kyriacos Athanasiou, chair of the UC Davis Department of Biomedical Engineering ...
Moderate weight loss helps reduce risk of osteoarthritis in the knee
Oct 19, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Here’s another good reason to lose even a moderate amount of weight: it could reduce your risk of developing osteoarthritis in your knees.
New study finds way to stop excessive bone growth following trauma or surgery
Sep 23, 2009 |
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A recent United States Army study found that excessive bone growth, also known as heterotopic ossificiation (HO), affects up to 70 percent of soldiers who are severely wounded during combat. A much smaller percentage of the ...
Hormone promises to keep joint injuries from causing long-term osteoarthritis
Sep 12, 2009 |
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An existing osteoporosis drug is the first ever found to prevent cartilage loss from osteoarthritis following injury to a joint, and may also regenerate some cartilage that has been lost to osteoarthritis, according to an ...
Getting better visualization of joint cartilage through cationic CT contrast agents
Sep 01, 2009 |
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In its quest to find new strategies to treat osteoarthritis and other diseases, a Boston University-led research team has reported finding a new computer tomography contrast agent for visualizing the special distributions ...
Veterinarians using stem cells to treat animals
Aug 10, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Lucy the Labradoodle scoots along the ground to grab a bone.
FDA: Arthritis drugs pose cancer risk to children
Medicine & Health / Medications
Aug 04, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Federal regulators on Tuesday added stronger warnings to a group of best-selling drugs used to treat arthritis and other inflammatory diseases, saying they can increase the risk of cancer in children and adolescents.
The disease markers that will aid arthritis research
Jul 24, 2009 |
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A combination of biochemical and MRI markers will allow improved measurement of osteoarthritis (OA) progression. The biomarkers, described in BioMed Central's open access journal Arthritis Research and Therapy, will be use ...
Obesity contributes to rapid cartilage loss
Jul 14, 2009 |
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Obesity, among other factors, is strongly associated with an increased risk of rapid cartilage loss, according to a study published in the August issue of Radiology.
