chondrocyte
Meaning of chondrocyte: Chondrocytes are the sole resident cells of cartilage, embedded within the tissue's own matrix and responsible for producing and maintaining it.
Definition of chondrocyte
A chondrocyte is a cell found within cartilage, the firm, flexible connective tissue that lines joints, forms parts of the ear and nose, and makes up the developing skeleton before much of it is later replaced by bone. Chondrocytes are the only cell type normally present within mature cartilage tissue.
Chondrocytes are responsible for producing and maintaining the surrounding cartilage matrix, a mixture of collagen fibers and other molecules that gives cartilage its combination of firmness and flexibility. Each chondrocyte sits within a small space in the matrix it has produced, and unlike many other cell types, chondrocytes have a very limited direct blood supply.
Because cartilage has little direct blood supply and a limited capacity for repair, damaged cartilage, such as in a joint affected by osteoarthritis, tends to heal poorly compared with more richly supplied tissue, and chondrocyte function and survival are an active focus of research into cartilage repair.
How chondrocyte is built
- chondr/o Combining form · Greek cartilage
- -cyte Suffix · Greek cell
A medical term is read from its ending backwards: the suffix first, then the prefix, then the root. See all 223 word parts.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
Biopsy of the joint tissue showed a normal arrangement of chondrocytes within the cartilage matrix.
Good to know
Cartilage's limited blood supply, reflected in the sparse arrangement of chondrocytes within its matrix, is a major reason damaged cartilage tends to heal more slowly and less completely than more richly supplied tissue.
Word origin
Where “chondrocyte” comes from
Formed from Greek chondros, meaning cartilage, and kytos, meaning cell.