In a laboratory, a scientist uses an enzyme to digest elastin in a sample of elastic cartilage. What is the most likely physical result?
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Correct answer: The cartilage loses its ability to recoil after being bent.
Elastin provides the 'memory' or recoil property of the tissue. Without it, the Type II collagen and ground substance would remain, but the tissue would act more like hyaline cartilage and lose its characteristic flexibility.
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More Elastic Cartilage questions
- The nutritional needs of chondrocytes in the center of a piece of elastic cartilage are met through:
- Which of the following describes the primary structural difference between elastic cartilage and hyaline cartilage?
- Which specific histological stain is most effective for demonstrating the fiber network in elastic cartilage?
- In which of the following anatomical locations is elastic cartilage primarily found?
- Which of the following is TRUE regarding the perichondrium of elastic cartilage?
- How do the chondrocytes of elastic cartilage typically appear compared to those in hyaline cartilage?