the.com/cartilage
the scaffolding you build before bone, then keep where flexibility beats strength
means Cartilage is the firm but flexible connective tissue that cushions joints, shapes the ears and nose, and serves as the template from which much of the skeleton forms.
from From Latin cartilago, meaning gristle — the same firm, springy stuff you'd notice chewing through meat. It came into English in the late Middle Ages by way of medical and anatomical writing, and its deeper roots are unclear, though some link it loosely to words for wickerwork or lattice, a nod to its scaffold-like nature.
- no blood
- Lacks vessels, so it heals painfully slowly
- shark skeleton
- Sharks are built entirely from it, no bone
- fetal first
- You were once a cartilage skeleton, later replaced
- endless ears
- Nose and ears keep growing it lifelong
- frictionless
- Joint cartilage is slicker than wet ice
ear cartilage — human auricular cartilage that maintains ear shape and can be harvested for reconstructive surgery
knee meniscus cartilage — shock-absorbing cartilage in knee joints, commonly torn in athletes like derrick rose in 2012
tracheal cartilage — c-shaped cartilage rings in the windpipe that keep airways open during breathing