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This slide shows a stained section of the trachea (windpipe). Note
the rings of hyaline cartilage embedded in the walls of the trachea that provide
support and help to maintain an open airway. Hyaline cartilage is the most
common form of cartilage in the body, making up part of the nose, connecting
ribs to the sternum and covering the articulating surfaces of bones. When
sectioned and stained, the matrix of hyaline cartilage takes on a light purple
color. Cartilage-forming cells called chondroblasts produce this matrix,
which consists of an amorphous ground substance heavily invested with collagen
fibers. Chondrocytes (mature cartilage cells) can be seen singly or in groups
within spaces in the matrix called lacunae. The surface of all cartilage
(except for articular cartilage) is covered by a membrane of connective tissue
fibers called the perichondrium. Although the perichondrium is
well-vascularized, cartilage tissue proper is avascular, which means that oxygen
and nutrients have to diffuse from blood vessels in the perichondrium to the
chondrocytes within the cartilage proper. |