A chondrocyte is a cartilage cell.
The cartilage is the white covering of the ends of the long bones. Here the inset magnifies a tiny part of the cartilage covering the rounded end of the femur.
The cartilage cells lie within lacunae - holes in the matrix - and control the production of the matrix.
Chondrocytes are supported in a matrix
Cartilage is an unusual tissue. It consists primarily of a 'matrix' in which the cartilage cells or chondrocytes sit separated from one another in little holes (lacunae).
Synonyms:
Cartilage cell
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CLINICAL PUBLICATIONS
A pathway to bone: signaling molecules and transcription factors involved in chondrocyte development and maturation. Kozhemyakina E, Lassar AB and Zelzer E. Development. 2015 Mar 1; 142(5): 817–831.