- Discussion: (see cartilage menu and articular cartilage)
- see tendon metaplasia to fibrocartilage;
- fibrocartilage is composed of bundles of thick clearly defined collagen fibers, along w/ intervening unicellular islands of cartilage arranged in small chains;
- it has moderate proteoglycans but low content of glycosaminoglycans (2% of dry weight).
- cartilaginous matrix is small and is noticed only around each chondrocyte;
- collagenous fibers are usually arrayed parallel to tension on tissue;
- it is found in symphyseal joints, intervertebral discs & in articular discs;
- amount of fibrocartilage increases with age as hyaline cartilage transforms into fibrocartilage;
- fibrocartilage does not have a surrounding perichondrium
- biomechanics of fibrocartilage:
- Understanding the biomechanics of tendon fibrocartilages
- Development and ageing of phenotypically distinct fibrocartilages associated with the rat Achilles tendon
- Where tendons and ligaments meet bone: attachment sites ('entheses') in relation to exercise and/or mechanical load.
- Morpho-functional changes in human tendon tissue.
- Fibrocartilage associated with human tendons and their pulleys.
- Regional structural and viscoelastic properties of fibrocartilage upon dynamic nanoindentation of the articular condyle.
References:
Fibrocartilage.
Age-related changes in tendon fibrocartilage.
Entheses and enthesitis: a histopathologic review and relevance to spondyloarthritides