A bone is a rigid connective tissue, while cartilage is a soft connective tissue. Bone forms the skeletal structure of the body, while cartilage is found in the nose, ears, ribs, larynx and joints and also acts as a shock absorber in these joints.
Bones protect against mechanical damage and support the motion of the body, giving shape to the body. And as the cartilage softens, they are commonly found along the respiratory tract, between joints, and in other flexible parts of the body.
The skeletal system of our body is made up of bones and cartilage. They provide proper size, rigidity to the body. Both protect fragile organs from internal and external shocks. They are also responsible for the movement and movement of the body along with flexibility. In this material, we will take up important differences between the two with their works.
What is bone?
As stated above, bone is a rigid tissue of the body, mainly made up of materials such as collagen and calcium phosphate. It is made up of connective tissue. These bone tissues gather to form the skeletal, human skeletal system and other vertebral bones. The human body consists of 206 different bones in the body of an adult.
The largest bone is the femur or thigh bone, and the smallest bone is the stapes, which are present in the middle ear.
Another fact is that more than 99 percent of the body is present in bones and teeth and 1 percent of the rest is found in blood. Vertebrates are the only organisms on Earth that have bones in their bodies. It is found in bony fish and higher classes among modern vertebrate organisms.
What is Cartilage?
Cartilage is a type of connective tissue, but they are soft, firm tissues and are responsible for flexibility, bending, and muscle stretch. So these are found at the place where support is required as well as flexibility between the joints, ears, nose as well as the spinal column.
Cartilage is nothing but the extracellular matrix present in connective tissue. This matrix is produced by specialized cells called chondroblasts. These chondroblasts are found in the matrix of chondrocytes, whereas lacunae are the places where these cells lie.
Chondrocytes determine the level of flexibility of cartilage. They are found in the body between the joints of the ribs, ears and nose, bronchial tubes, bones like elbows, knees and ankles.
| Bones | Cartilage |
| Bones are complex structures, which are made of connective tissues that are rigid and help to provide protection, shape to the body. | The cartilage is a simple structure, made of connective tissue that is soft. And is useful in providing flexibility to joints and also prevents external and internal shocks. |
| They are rigid, and non-flexible. | They are flexible and soft-elastic. |
| Bones grow in both directions (bidirectional). | Cartilage grows in a single direction (unidirectional). |
| The Haverian system and Volkmann’s canals are present. | The Haverian system and Volkmann’s canals are absent. |
| Bones are of two types – compact bone and spongy bone. | Cartilage is of three types – fibrocartilage, elastic cartilage, and hyaline cartilage. |
| Bones are active partners in the blood supply. | Cartilages are not partners in the blood supply, except in the Peri-condrium. |
| The lacunae contain canaliculi, where each lacuna has only one cell (osteocyte) in the bone. | The lacunae in the cartilage do not contain the canaliculi and each lacuna has two-three chondrocytes. |
| The matrix contains a protein called osine and can be both organic and inorganic. They occur in the lamella and are vascular. They have massive calcium phosphate deposition of calcium salts. | The matrix contains a protein called chondrin, and they are organic. In cartilage, the matrix is termed as a homogenous mass without lamella. They do not possess calcium salts. |
| Bone cells are also known as osteocytes. | Cartilage cells are also known as chondrocytes. |
| Bones are responsible for the formation of the skeletal system that gives shape to the body. | Cartilage is found in the ear, nose, larynx, and trachea. |
| Bones are hardened due to the deposition of calcium phosphates and carbonates in the matrix. | Cartilage is soft, except the cartilage is composed of cartilage and matrix proteins and sugars. |
Conclusion
From the above article, we know the importance of connective tissue in the rigidity and shape of the body, protection and maintaining its essential parts. In addition to muscles, bones and cartilage serve as the main structural components of the body.
