Bone vs Cartilage
What is the difference between bone and cartilage?
Bone vs Cartilage
Bones and cartilage are structural components of the body. Both of these belong to the category of connective tissues. Both of these provide mechanical strength and support to the body and help in the protection of vital organs. However, they have some marked differences between them.
1. BONES –
· Highly rigid
· Consists of blood vessels and a proper blood supply
· Bones comprise cells known as osteocytes
· A bone grows bidirectionally, that is, it grows on either ends
· It consists of bone marrow
· The matrix of bone is composed of many organic and inorganic salts
· Calcium phosphate is present
· Structurally, a bone consists of two canal systems – the Harversian canal system and the Volkmann canal system
· There are two types of bones – spongy bone and compact bone
· A newborn consists of 300 bones, whereas an adult consists of 206 bones
· The entire skeletal system is made of bones – skull, femur, phalanges, etc.
2. CARTILAGE
· These are soft and simple structures
· Lack of blood vessels and proper blood supply
· Cells of cartilage are known as chondrocytes
· A cartilage grows unidirectionally, that is, it can only grow from one of its either sides
· It does not consist of any bone marrow
· The matrix of a cartilage consists only of organic salts
· Neither the harversian canal nor the Volkmann canal are present in cartilage
· The different types of cartilage are yaline cartilage, elastin cartilage, and fibrous cartilage
· Presence – found on the tips of the nose, at the ends of ribs, etc.
Bones and cartilage provide mechanical strength to the body. The bone marrow is the site of production of B cells and T cells, a site of maturation of B cells. A bone marks strength whereas cartilage acts as a shock absorber. Bones are sites of the production of RBCs and WBCs whereas no such action takes place in cartilages.
– Written By Manpreet
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