Volume 1

General and descriptive anatomy of the domestic animals / by John Gamgee and James Law.

Date:
1861-1862
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: General and descriptive anatomy of the domestic animals / by John Gamgee and James Law. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    Dr Beale on nutrition of cartilage. Changes of cartilage with age. certain places they always contain numerous blood-vessels, in special canals, and, as I have shown in the septum nasi of the calf, even nerves. The cartilages are developed from the primitive embryonal cell masses; the cells of the latter becoming converted into cartilage cells, and, at least in many cases, a homogeneous intercellular sub- stance appearing between them, which is derived from transuded con- stituents of the blood. The growth of cartilage is affected, firstly, by endogenous cell-multiplication, traces of which are always discernible even in fully formed cartilage; and, secondly, by the deposition of an intermediate substance from the blood-plasma between the cells, which, in every case, at first solely constitute the cartilage In fully developed cartilage, the change of material is certainly not energetic; and apart from the vessels of the perichondrium covering many cartilages and those of the adjoining bone, no special means are provided for effecting such change, except in the cartilages of some mammals.” According to Dr Beale’s view of the nature of tissues, the cells of cartilages are composed of the germinal matter, and the matrix is the formed material. He says: “At an early period of development of all forms of cartilage, masses of germinal matter are seen situated very close to each other, and as the growth advances, the quantity of formed material between them (matrix, intercellular substance) gradually increases. It is formed from the germinal matter. If you examine any of those cartilages, in which small parcels of cells exist, at inter- vals through the matrix, you will observe that there exists a greater amount of formed material between the various collections, than between any of the individual masses of each collection. If it be admitted that the matrix is formed from the masses of germinal matter, this fact is at once explained. The more recent the divisions of the germinal matter the thinner will be the intervening layer of formed material between the resulting masses.” The nutrition of cartilage is explained, therefore, by these cells im- bibing and assimilating material which is progressively added to the matrix. With age cartilage, especially in joints, is invaded by neighbouring tissues. Calcareous particles become disseminated through its matrix, and in some instances fibrous tissue. Whenever cartilage is fractured, the union occurs by connective tissue. Whenever joints ulcerate so as to remove a considerable portion of the cartilage, re- storation to health only occurs to the extent of fibrous adhesion, a