Which statement explains why cartilage healing is limited?

Which statement explains why cartilage healing is limited?

• A. Rich blood supply
• B. Abundant lymphatics
• C. Lack of lymphatics, blood vessels, and nerves
• D. High regenerative capacity

Answer: (C)

Cartilage healing is limited because this tissue is avascular, aneural, and alymphatic. Without blood vessels, there’s little delivery of oxygen, nutrients, and inflammatory mediators needed to repair tissue, and without lymphatics there’s poor drainage of waste and limited recruitment of repair cells. In articular cartilage, this means nutrients must diffuse from the synovial fluid and the underlying bone, which is a slow, inefficient process for healing after injury. Chondrocytes (the cells within cartilage) have limited capacity to proliferate, so the damaged area often does not regenerate like other tissues, and repair tissue tends to be fibrocartilage rather than the original hyaline cartilage, which is weaker. That’s why the statement describing lack of lymphatics, blood vessels, and nerves best explains the limited healing. The other ideas would suggest improved healing (rich blood supply, abundant lymphatics, or high regenerative capacity), which is not the case for cartilage.

Cartilage healing is limited because this tissue is avascular, aneural, and alymphatic. Without blood vessels, there’s little delivery of oxygen, nutrients, and inflammatory mediators needed to repair tissue, and without lymphatics there’s poor drainage of waste and limited recruitment of repair cells. In articular cartilage, this means nutrients must diffuse from the synovial fluid and the underlying bone, which is a slow, inefficient process for healing after injury. Chondrocytes (the cells within cartilage) have limited capacity to proliferate, so the damaged area often does not regenerate like other tissues, and repair tissue tends to be fibrocartilage rather than the original hyaline cartilage, which is weaker.

That’s why the statement describing lack of lymphatics, blood vessels, and nerves best explains the limited healing. The other ideas would suggest improved healing (rich blood supply, abundant lymphatics, or high regenerative capacity), which is not the case for cartilage.