Biology · Structural Organisation in Animals · NEET
They are called specialised because their matrix is not the ordinary soft matrix of loose or dense connective tissue. Cartilage has a solid but pliable matrix, bone has a very hard matrix full of calcium salts, and blood has a fluid (liquid) matrix called plasma. Each does a special job - support, hard skeleton, or transport - so NCERT groups them separately from loose and dense connective tissue.
Cartilage cells are called chondrocytes and they sit inside small spaces in the matrix. Bone cells are called osteocytes and they lie in spaces too. Blood contains red blood cells (RBCs/erythrocytes), white blood cells (WBCs/leucocytes) and platelets. A common NEET trap is swapping chondrocytes and osteocytes, so remember: Chondrocyte = Cartilage, Osteocyte = Osteo (bone).
Cartilage matrix is made of a protein called chondrin and is solid yet flexible, so it can bend a little. Bone matrix is hard and rigid because it is rich in calcium salts and collagen fibres. Blood matrix is a liquid called plasma. The matrix is the key idea: connective tissue = cells scattered in a matrix, and only the matrix state changes.
Blood is a connective tissue because its cells (RBCs, WBCs, platelets) are suspended in an abundant extracellular matrix - the fluid plasma. Connective tissue simply means cells separated by a large amount of matrix; the matrix does not have to be solid. Blood connects body parts by transporting oxygen, nutrients, hormones and waste, so it fits the definition.
No. Neuroglia are the supporting cells of NEURAL tissue - they support and protect neurons in the nervous system. This is a very common NEET trap. Blood, adipose and cartilage are connective tissues, but neuroglia belongs to neural tissue, so it is the odd one out in a connective-tissue list.
Cartilage has a soft, pliable matrix (chondrin) and its cells are chondrocytes; it is found in the nose tip, ear pinna, and between vertebrae. Bone has a hard matrix rich in calcium salts and its cells are osteocytes; it forms the strong skeleton and protects organs like the brain (skull). In short, cartilage bends, bone does not.
Which of the following is not a connective tissue?
Statement I: Ligaments are dense irregular tissue. Statement II: Cartilage is dense regular tissue. Choose the correct answer.
Try the real previous-year questions from this chapter — each with the answer and a full solution.
Cartilage, bone and blood. Cartilage has a pliable matrix with chondrocytes, bone has a hard calcium-rich matrix with osteocytes, and blood has a fluid plasma matrix with blood cells.
The matrix of blood is a fluid called plasma. Red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets are suspended in this plasma, which is why blood is a fluid connective tissue.
Cartilage cells are chondrocytes and bone cells are osteocytes. Remember Chondro = cartilage and Osteo = bone to avoid mixing them up in NEET.
Bone is a connective tissue because its osteocytes are embedded far apart in a hard extracellular matrix rich in calcium salts and collagen. It supports and protects the body, matching the connective tissue definition of cells in a matrix.
Cartilage is found at the tip of the nose, in the pinna of the ear, in the epiglottis, at the ends of long bones and between the vertebrae. Its pliable matrix lets these parts bend slightly.
