Identify this tissue.

Identify this tissue.

• A. Elastic cartilage
• B. Bone
• C. Hyaline cartilage
• D. Fibrocartilage

Answer: (C)

The main idea here is recognizing cartilage by how the tissue looks under a microscope: the glassy, translucent matrix, the way cells (chondrocytes) sit in lacunae, and the overall fiber content. Hyaline cartilage has a smooth, glassy matrix that appears relatively uniform and is rich in proteoglycans with type II collagen, which gives it that pale, translucent appearance. Chondrocytes are found in lacunae and may cluster in small groups, but you don’t see obvious fibrous bundles in the matrix. A perichondrium often surrounds hyaline cartilage, though not at joint surfaces. This distinguishes it from elastic cartilage, which contains many elastic fibers that give a more fibrous, dark-staining network; and from fibrocartilage, which has thick bundles of collagen fibers with chondrocytes arranged in rows between them. Bone would look mineralized with osteocytes in lacunae and a highly organized lamellar structure, not a translucent cartilage matrix. So the tissue described matches hyaline cartilage due to its glassy matrix and chondrocytes in lacunae without prominent fiber bundles.

The main idea here is recognizing cartilage by how the tissue looks under a microscope: the glassy, translucent matrix, the way cells (chondrocytes) sit in lacunae, and the overall fiber content. Hyaline cartilage has a smooth, glassy matrix that appears relatively uniform and is rich in proteoglycans with type II collagen, which gives it that pale, translucent appearance. Chondrocytes are found in lacunae and may cluster in small groups, but you don’t see obvious fibrous bundles in the matrix. A perichondrium often surrounds hyaline cartilage, though not at joint surfaces.

This distinguishes it from elastic cartilage, which contains many elastic fibers that give a more fibrous, dark-staining network; and from fibrocartilage, which has thick bundles of collagen fibers with chondrocytes arranged in rows between them. Bone would look mineralized with osteocytes in lacunae and a highly organized lamellar structure, not a translucent cartilage matrix.

So the tissue described matches hyaline cartilage due to its glassy matrix and chondrocytes in lacunae without prominent fiber bundles.