Fold the top of your ear and let go. It springs right back! Chondrocytes in elastic cartilage keep it that way.
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Chondrocytes are cartilage keeper cells. This kind lives in elastic cartilage, found in your outer ear and in the epiglottis, a little flap in your throat.
Each chondrocyte sits in its own tiny pocket, sometimes in pairs. Around the pockets is a matrix full of stretchy elastic fibers.
Gently fold the top of your ear down, then let go. Feel it spring back? That's elastic cartilage at work.
Chondrocytes keep the cartilage around them healthy. They make and fix the matrix and its elastic fibers.
Thanks to them, your ear can bend without breaking. And your epiglottis can flip down each time you swallow, to help keep food out of your windpipe.
Cartilage has no blood tubes inside it. Chondrocytes get their food slowly, as it soaks in through the matrix.
By Smile and Learn - English. A fun video for kids.
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