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Fibrocartilage

 - 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

The potential for regeneration of articular cartilage in defects created by chondral shaving and subchondral abrasion. An experimental investigation in rabbits.

On the Horizon from the ORS