| Cartilage and bone are special types of connective tissue characterized by extracellular spaces or matrices conferring partial rigidity in cartilage or complete rigidity in bone.
Connective tissue thus serves a supportive function or forms a framework for the surrounding body tissues or organs.
Bone tissue in adults and the formation of the various types of bones during development are particularly complex and cannot be grasped from the limited number of light-microscopic images presented in this chapter. For a clearer understanding of bone tissue formation and growth, it is therefore essential to relate the images presented here to material presented in lectures and textbooks, and to histological sections examined under a microscope.
The present chapter is divided into five sections:
- Cartilage (figures 8.1 to 8.8)
- Compact bone of the diaphysis of a long bone (figures 8.9 to 8.15)
- Growth in diameter of the diaphysis of a long bone (figures 8.16 to 8.21)
- Growth in length of the diaphysis of a long bone at the level of the epiphyseal plate (figures 8.22 to 8.31)
| 
Contents
We'd very much appreciate receiving your comments and suggestions!