Strong, flexible type of connective tissue.- Supports and connects body parts (eg, costal cartilage that connects ribs to sternum)- Provides cushioning in joints

Layers:Perichondrum: Layer of connective tissue that surrounds cartilage:- Outer layer of fibrous connective tissues and blood vessels - Inner layers with chondroblasts that make extracellular matrix (gell out of water and proteoglycan aggregates). Get trapped in the matrix and form lacunae → turn into chondrocytes that maintain and repair extracellular matrix.

Growth:1. Appositional growth: Chrondroblasts create new matrix on perichondrium → cartilage expands & widens2. Interstitial growth: Chrondrocytes create new matrix within the cartilage → grows in length- Metaphysis contains the epiphyseal plate (growth plate) that has chondrocytes that produce cartilage - Osteoblasts ossify cartilage by depositing minerals

Types:1. Elastic cartilage: Rarest, softest and most flexible cartilage, type II collagen. Found in pinnae, epiglottis.2. Hyaline cartilage: Most common, stronger but less flexible, type II collagen. Found in the nose, walls of the larynx, tracheal cartilages, articular cartilages in joints, costal cartilages, growth plates. 3. Fibrocartilage: Greatest tensile strength, secrete type I collagen. Found in meniscus, intervertebral discs.