Elastic cartilage

🩺 Before you name anything

Take a deep breath and let's start by looking at the overall shape of the specimen at low power. Notice how it's not a solid mass but has a more open, spongy appearance. This is a clue that you're looking at cartilage. Now, focus on the chondrocytes in lacunae. These are the small, rounded spaces that house the cells. The key feature here is the presence of elastic fibres, which might be challenging to see with H&E staining, but look for a fine, branching network. Students often rush to high power and miss these broader patterns. Stay calm, and remember, identifying the lacunae and the elastic fibre network is what sets this apart from other types of cartilage. Once you spot these, you're on the right track. Let's move on to identifying the perichondrium, which is the dense layer surrounding the cartilage, confirming it's elastic cartilage.