Cartilage
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Cartilage is a type of connective tissue that does not commonly come across the pathologist's desk.
It comes in three flavours:[1][2]
- Hyaline cartilage, e.g. trachea.
- Fibrocartilage, e.g. intervertebral disc.
- Elastic cartilage, e.g. epiglottis.
General
Features of cartilage:[3]
- Avascular.
- Extracellular matrix with bluish tinge.
- Round cells.
Differential diagnosis
Cartilage - general for the site:[4]
- Synovial chondromatosis.
- Gout.
- Pseudogout.
- Storage disorders.
- Granulomatous inflammation.
- Degenerative changes (osteoarthritis).
- Rheumatic disease.
- Diffuse tenosynovial giant-cell tumour.
Normal
Hyaline cartilage
Microscopic
Features:[5]
- Chondrocytes within small pockets (lacunae) of extracellular matrix.
- Chondrocytes:
- Spherical nucleus.
- Prominent nucleolus.
- Clear cytoplasm.
- Extracellular matrix:
- Blue-white appearance on H&E stain -- key feature.
- Chondrocytes:
Image:
Hyaline cartilage - polarized. (WC)
Perichondrium
Microscopic
Features:
- Around cartilage.
- Increased cellular density.
- Spindle cells with poorly defined cellular borders in an eosinophilic (fibrous) stroma.
Images:
Tumours
Main article: Chondro-osseous tumours
Tumours of cartilage are dealt with in the article chondro-osseous tumours together with bone tumours.
Specific diagnoses
Synovial chondromatosis
- AKA synovial osteochondromatosis.
Main article: Synovial chondromatosis
See also
References
- ↑ Young, Barbara; Lowe, James S.; Stevens, Alan; Heath, John W.; Deakin, Philip J. (2000). Wheaters Functional Histology (4th ed.). Churchill Livingstone. pp. 173-5. ISBN 978-0004881973.
- ↑ URL: http://www.lab.anhb.uwa.edu.au/mb140/CorePages/Cartilage/Cartil.htm. Accessed on: 2 January 2011.
- ↑ Cormack, David H. (2001). Essential Histology (2nd ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. pp. 178-9. ISBN 978-0781716680.
- ↑ Krenn, V.; Morawietz, L.; König, A.; Haeupl, T. (Nov 2006). "[Differential diagnosis of chronic synovitis].". Pathologe 27 (6): 402-8. doi:10.1007/s00292-006-0866-6. PMID 17031677.
- ↑ Cormack, David H. (2001). Essential Histology (2nd ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. pp. 178. ISBN 978-0781716680.
- ↑ URL: http://apbrwww5.apsu.edu/thompsonj/Anatomy%20&%20Physiology/2010/2010%20Exam%20Reviews/Exam%201%20Review/Ch04%20Mineralized%20Connective%20Tissues.htm. Accessed on: 19 September 2012.