Skeleton intervertebral discs. It is not as hard and rigid as bone but is stiffer and less flexible than muscle. Cartilage is composed of specialized cells called chondrocytes that produce a large amount of extracellular matrix composed of Type II collagen (except Fibrocartilage which also contains type I collagen) fibers, abundant ground substance rich in proteoglycan, and elastin fibers. Cartilage is classified in three types, elastic cartilage, hyaline cartilage and fibrocartilage, which differ in the relative amounts of these three main components. Unlike other connective tissues, cartilage does not contain blood vessels. The chondrocytes are supplied by diffusion, helped by the
Cartilage conduction bone conduction. Cartilage conduction Cartilage conduction is a pathway in which sound signals are transmitted to the inner ear. This pathway is distinct from conventional sound pathways such as air or bone. Therefore, cartilage conduction it referred to as the third auditory pathway. Since approximately 450 years ago, two pathways have been acknowledged for transmitting sound to the inner ear; one is air conduction and the other is bone conduction. In 2004, Hiroshi Hosoi, a professor at Nara Medical University, discovered the phenomenon of cartilage vibration in the inner ear. By attaching a vibrator to aural cartilage, sound was found