chondroide
Chondroide is a term used in anatomy and embryology to refer to cartilage-like tissue or to a cartilage-forming precursor in the development of the vertebrate skeleton. The word derives from chondro-, cartilage, and -idae or -eide, meaning resembling; in older literature it is sometimes used interchangeably with cartilage anlagen or cartilaginous primordium.
Chondroide tissue consists mainly of mesenchymal cells that differentiate into chondroblasts and chondrocytes, embedded in an
During development, chondroide gives rise to cartilage through chondrogenesis. In endochondral ossification, the chondroide model first
In modern English-language anatomy, the term chondroide is uncommon and largely historical; contemporary texts prefer cartilage,
See also: cartilage, chondroblast, chondrocyte, chondrogenesis, endochondral ossification.