Summary
A system consisting of an interlacunar network and thick fibrils was demonstrated in the matrix of human fetal and neonatal hyaline cartilage, using an osmium-ferrocyanide mixture as a second fixative.
The network appeared as irregular strands consisting of hyaluronidase-sensitive, amorphous and fine fibrillar material. The thick fibrils measured 75–125 μm in diameter, each appearing to consist of several collagen fibrils twisted into a cable and cemented by dense amorphous material. Strands of the network were seen to cross and focally distort the thick fibrils, suggesting that the strands exert some tensile forces on the thick fibrils.
During the first year of life the network rapidly became undemonstrable, but the thick fibrils persisted into adulthood. This system of interlacunar network and thick fibrils appears to form an integral functional unit which may play an organizational tole in the formation of cartilagenous matrix during development. Furthermore, it may contribute to the mechanical strength of the coflagen framework in hyaline cartilage.
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Hwang, W.S., Hugh, J. & Ngo, K. A system of interlacunar network and thick fibrils in human hyaline cartilage. Histochem J 22, 201–208 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02386006
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02386006