134 



WHITE FIBROUS TISSUE. 



Fibrous cartilage is composed of a network of white glistening fibres, 

 collected into fasciculi of various size, and containing in its meshes cells 

 and a subfibrous tissue resembling that of reticular cartilage. The fibres 

 of fibrous cartilages are identical with those of fibrous tissue, the cells are 

 large (about y^th of an inch) as in reticular cartilage, and the areolse 

 lire variable in dimensions. It is this latter character that constitutes ihe 

 difference between different fibrous cartilages, some being composed al- 

 most entirely of fibres with few and small interstices, as the interarticula 

 cartilages, while others exhibit large spaces filled with an imperfect fibrou 

 tissue and cells, as the intervertebral substance. 



The fibrous cartilages admit of arrangement into four groups, namely, 

 interarticular, stratiform, interosseous, and free. The instances of inter- 

 articular fibrous cartilages (menisci) are those of the lower jaw, sternal 

 and acromial end of the clavicle, wrist, carpus, knee, to which may be 

 added the fibrous cartilages of circumference, glenoid and cotyloid. The 

 stratiform. fibrous cartilages are such as form a thin coating to the grooves 

 on bone through which tendons play. The interosseous fibrous cartilages 

 are the intervertebral substance and symphysis pubis. The free fibrous 

 cartilages are the tarsal cartilages of the eyelids. 



The development of cartilage is the same with that of cartilage of bone 

 (page 46), the different forms of cartilage resulting from subsequent changes 

 in the intercellular substance and cells. Thus, for example, in articular 

 cartilage the cells undergo the lowest degree of development, are very 

 disproportionate to the intercellular substance, and the latter remains per 

 manently structureless. In reticular cartilage the cells possess a more 

 active growth, and surpass in bulk the intercellular substance, while the 

 latter is composed also of cells, which assume a fibrous disposition. In 

 fibrous cartilage development is most energetic in the intercellular sub- 

 stance ; this is converted into fasciculi of fibrous tissue, while the inter- 

 spaces are filled with cells and imperfect fibrous tissue in eveiy stage of 

 development. 



FIBROUS TISSUE is one of the most generally dis- 

 tributed of all the animal tissues ; it is composed 

 of fibres of extreme minuteness, and presents itself 

 under three elementary forms ; namely, white fibrous 

 tissue, yellow fibrous tissue, and red fibrous tissue. 

 In white fibrous tissue the fibres are cylindrical, 

 exceedingly minute, (about ystfoo of an inch in di- 

 ameter), transparent and undulating ; they are col- 

 lected into small fasciculi (from 30^3 to 70^30 of 

 an inch) and these latter form larger fasciculi, which 

 according to their arrangement give rise to the pro- 

 duction of thin lamina?, membranes, ligarnentons 

 bands, and tendinous cords. The connecting me- 

 dium of the fibres in the formation of the primitive 

 i fasciculi is a transparent structureless interfibrous 

 f/ substance or blastema, to which in most situations 

 are added numerous minute dark filaments derived 

 from nuclei and thence termed nuclear filaments. 



White fihrous tissu* : 2. Straight appearance of the tissue when stretched. 1, 3, 

 . '>. Various w?ivy appearances which the tissue exhibits when not stretched. Magni- 

 >*d 32u diameters. 



Fig. 68." 



