Lipid content of human costal and articular cartilage.

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Abstract
Normal costal and articular cartilage was taken post mortem from cases of which the age at death ranged from 0 to 89 yr. The total extractable lipid of the tissue was estimated and parallel histolog-ical studies made with frozen sections colored with Sudan black B. In costal cartilage, lipid content decreased from 1.0 to 0.4%. wet weight during the 1st 3 decades of life. Thereafter an increase occured, until by the end of the 8th decade it exceeds 1.0%. wet weight. The decrease in lipid content during maturation may be attributed to the concomitant reduction in cell-density of the tissue, despite the rapid increase in the mean volume of lipid/cell (in the form of Sudan black B-positive globules) during this period. The increase in extractable lipid during aging is probably associated with changes in the extracellular lipid of the tissue, for both cell-density and mean volume of lipid/cell decrease during later life. The lipid content of mature coastal cartilage is greater in the female than in the male. There may also be a reduction in the amount of lipid in the cartilage of thin individuals. Neither sex nor nutritional status appears to affect the mean volume of lipid/cell. Values for the lipid content of articular cartilage are of the same order as for that of costal cartilage. There are no changes with aging, nor are there any sex differences in the lipid content of articular cartilage, and there is no evidence that the lipid content is influenced by the nutritional status of the individual.