Elastic cartilage
The auricula. Lateral surface.
Gray's	subject #68 279

Elastic cartilage or yellow cartilage is a type of cartilage present in the outer ear, larynx, and epiglottis. It contains elastic fiber networks and collagen fibers.^[1] The principal protein is elastin.

Elastic cartilage, histologically is similar to hyaline cartilage but contains many elastic fibers. These fibers form bundles that appear dark under a microscope. These fibers give elastic cartilage great flexibility so that it is able to withstand repeated bending. It is found in the epiglottis (part of the larynx) and the pinnae (the external ear flaps of many mammals including humans). Elastin fibers stain dark purple/black with Verhoeff stain.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Histology at OU 12_02 - "epiglottis"
• Histology at BU 02901loa
• Histology at ucsd.edu
• Anatomy Atlases - Microscopic Anatomy, plate 03.42

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.

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