Which space houses a cartilage cell within the matrix?

Which space houses a cartilage cell within the matrix?

• A. Territorial Matrix
• B. Lacuna
• C. Interterritorial Matrix
• D. Chondrogenic Zone

Answer: (B)

Cartilage cells sit in small cavities called lacunae—these are the spaces carved into the matrix that house a chondrocyte. The cell stays in this little pocket and can extend processes into the surrounding matrix as it maintains the tissue. The layer of matrix immediately around the lacuna is the territorial matrix, a pericellular zone rich in proteoglycans that helps protect and organize the cell’s microenvironment. The interterritorial matrix is the larger area between lacunae, making up most of the cartilage and having a different composition. A chondrogenic zone is related to cartilage formation, not to the space that contains a cell. So the space that houses a cartilage cell within the matrix is the lacuna.

Cartilage cells sit in small cavities called lacunae—these are the spaces carved into the matrix that house a chondrocyte. The cell stays in this little pocket and can extend processes into the surrounding matrix as it maintains the tissue. The layer of matrix immediately around the lacuna is the territorial matrix, a pericellular zone rich in proteoglycans that helps protect and organize the cell’s microenvironment. The interterritorial matrix is the larger area between lacunae, making up most of the cartilage and having a different composition. A chondrogenic zone is related to cartilage formation, not to the space that contains a cell. So the space that houses a cartilage cell within the matrix is the lacuna.