Which cartilage is found in intervertebral discs and tendon attachments to bones?

Which cartilage is found in intervertebral discs and tendon attachments to bones?

• A. Hyaline cartilage
• B. Fibrous cartilage
• C. Elastic cartilage
• D. Articular cartilage

Answer: (B)

Fibrocartilage is designed to withstand both compressive loads and tensile forces, making it ideal for areas that experience pushing together and pulling apart. In intervertebral discs, the outer ring called the anulus fibrosus is made of tough fibrocartilage with thick collagen bundles that resist bending, twisting, and shear. At tendon-to-bone attachments (the entheses), fibrocartilage provides a graded transition from flexible tendon to rigid bone, distributing stress and protecting against injury. Hyaline cartilage, by contrast, covers joint surfaces to allow smooth movement and tends to handle compression relatively well but doesn’t provide the same level of tensile strength. Elastic cartilage contains more elastic fibers for flexibility and is found in structures like the ear and epiglottis. Articular cartilage is essentially hyaline cartilage that covers joints; it’s not the tissue typically found in intervertebral discs or tendon insertions.

Fibrocartilage is designed to withstand both compressive loads and tensile forces, making it ideal for areas that experience pushing together and pulling apart. In intervertebral discs, the outer ring called the anulus fibrosus is made of tough fibrocartilage with thick collagen bundles that resist bending, twisting, and shear. At tendon-to-bone attachments (the entheses), fibrocartilage provides a graded transition from flexible tendon to rigid bone, distributing stress and protecting against injury.

Hyaline cartilage, by contrast, covers joint surfaces to allow smooth movement and tends to handle compression relatively well but doesn’t provide the same level of tensile strength. Elastic cartilage contains more elastic fibers for flexibility and is found in structures like the ear and epiglottis. Articular cartilage is essentially hyaline cartilage that covers joints; it’s not the tissue typically found in intervertebral discs or tendon insertions.