CARTILAGE 



39 



subdivide until each lobule of fat contains a fine meshwork of capillaries 

 ensheathing each individual fat globule, figure 44. 



Adipose tissue serves as a storehouse of combustible matter which may 

 be reabsorbed into the blood when occasion requires, and, being used up 

 in the metabolism of the tissues, may help to preserve the heat of the body. 



FIG. 45. A Lobule of Developing 

 Adipose Tissue from an Eight-months 

 Fetus, a, Spherical or, from pressure, 

 polyhedral cells with large central nu- 

 cleus, surrounded by a finely reticulated 

 substance staining uniformly with hema- 

 toxylin. b, Similar cells with spaces 

 from which the fat has been removed 

 by oil of cloves, c, Similar cells showing 

 how the nucleus with enclosing proto- 

 plasm is being pressed toward periphery. 

 d, Nucleus of endothelium of investing 

 capillaries. (McCarthy.) 



FIG. 46. Branched Connective- 

 tissue Corpuscles, Developing 

 into Fat Cells. (Klein.) 



That part of the fat which is situated beneath the skin must, by its want of 

 conducting power, assist in preventing undue waste of the heat of the body 

 by escape from the surface. 



CARTILAGE. 



All kinds of cartilage are composed of cells embedded in a substance 

 called the matrix. The apparent differences of structure met with in the 

 various kinds of cartilage are more due to differences in the character of 

 the matrix than of the cells. With the exception of the articular variety, 

 cartilage is invested by a thin but tough firm fibrous membrane called the 

 perichondrium. 



Cartilage exists in three different forms in the human body, viz., hyaline 

 cartilage, yellow elastic cartilage, and white fibro- cartilage. 



Hyaline Cartilage. This variety of cartilage is met with largely in 

 the human body where it invests the articular ends of bones, and forms the 



