Cartilage as the cricoid cartilage and carina. Cartilage is composed of specialized cells called chondrocytes that produce a large amount of collagenous extracellular matrix, abundant ground substance that is rich in proteoglycan and elastin fibers. Cartilage is classified in three types, "elastic cartilage", "hyaline cartilage" and "fibrocartilage", which differ in relative amounts of collagen and proteoglycan. Cartilage does not contain blood vessels (it is avascular) or nerves (it is aneural). Nutrition is supplied to the chondrocytes by diffusion. The compression of the articular cartilage or flexion of the elastic cartilage generates fluid flow, which assists diffusion of nutrients to the chondrocytes.
Cartilage 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 be transmitted