Gallery chondrocyte images: illustrations and micrographs. All credits and licenses listed. Click a picture to see it large; click it again to open its paper. The pictures by method and the papers by section are in the library .
Micrographs Hyaline cartilage TEM. Chondrocytes arranged in chondrons contain extensive rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER); surrounding matrix shows type II collagen fibrils interspersed with proteoglycans. Six-day-old mouse, demineralized bone. Michael J.F. Blumer · CC BY 4.0
source Articular cartilage ECM zonal architecture. Superficial zone: collagen II fibers aligned parallel to articular surface (resists shear). Deep zone: fibers aligned perpendicular to bone interface (absorbs compression). Bautista, Park, Mazur, Aaron, Bilgen · CC0
source Human articular chondrocyte TEM (non-loading control arm). Panel A: autophagosomes, lysosomes, and autolysosomes showing normal autophagy activity. From a study of mechanical loading effects on OA chondrocytes; non-loading arm is the baseline control. Sato, Iwata, Yamamoto et al 2026, Int J Mol Sci · CC BY 4.0
source · fig. Fig 1A Human growth plate chondrocyte TEM. Resting zone (RZ) and proliferative zone (PZ) chondrocytes showing heterochromatin (asterisks) and lysosomes (arrowheads). Panel b from a study of cellular quiescence in the resting zone. Avijgan, Lopez-Perez, Galicia et al 2026, Bone Research · CC BY 4.0
source · fig. Fig b (TEM panel) Hyaline cartilage histological section, H&E stain. Chondrocytes in lacunae visible within the cartilage matrix. Nbnidhi · CC BY 4.0
source Safranin-O/Fast Green staining of knee articular cartilage. Red areas indicate preserved cartilage proteoglycans; green areas show depletion. From a DMM-induced OA model study of FGF9 intra-articular delivery. Lo, Chen, Huang et al 2026, Bone and Joint Research · CC BY 4.0
source · fig. Safranin-O panel Tibial plateau articular cartilage, spontaneous OA. Safranin O and IHC for CollagenX, MMP-13, Aggrecan, Caspase-3 across age groups. Scale bar 100 um. Wang, Wei, Xue et al 2021, BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders · CC BY 4.0
source · fig. multi-stain composite panel Human osteochondral explant H&E. Preserved (normal), lesioned (OA), and treated cartilage regions in the same section. Subchondral bone visible beneath cartilage. Sayedipour, Mazzini, Tuerlings et al 2026, Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Open · CC BY 4.0
source · fig. H&E comparison panel Ferroptosis is activated in osteoarthritic chondrocytes and contributes to cartilage degeneration (A) Heatmap of whole-transcriptome sequencing comparing normal chondrocytes and OA chondrocytes. (B) Volcano plot showing differentially expressed ferroptosis-related genes. (C) GO enrichment analysis indicating dysregulation of iron homeostasis and glutathione metabolism in OA. (D) Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of human OA cartilage and mouse cartilage tissues showing ACSL4 and GPX4 expression. Scale bars, 200 μm. Mai, Zhu, Liu et al 2026, iScience · CC BY 4.0
PMID 42565176 · fig. Figure 1 Histological cartilage evaluation in femoral condyles. Representative hematoxylin-eosin-stained sections of osteaoarthritic (OA) femoral condyles and their contralateral healthy (HT) from (A,D) SHAM: sham surgery, treated with placebo; (B,E) CONT: control, operated knees treated with placebo; (C,F) ASU: operated knees treated with avocado/soybean unsaponifiables. (G) The bar graph shows semiquantitative histological scores for cartilage structure (CART), chondrocyte abnormalities (CHOND), tidemark integrity (TIDEMARK), and total score (TOTAL) in the previously mentioned groups. Asterisks (*) indicate significant differences with the contralateral HT joint and the hash (#) indicates significant differences with the SHAM-OA group. Four-point stars denote chondrocyte clusters, black arrows denote empty lacunae, and dashed arrows denote surface undulations and irregularities. Sabucedo-Suarez, Munoz, Permuy et al 2026, Frontiers in Veterinary Science · CC BY 4.0
PMID 42290786 · fig. Figure 7 Illustrations Chondrocyte in its lacuna. Territorial matrix (type VI collagen capsule) and interterritorial matrix (type II collagen, aggrecan, hyaluronan) shown.
Chondro / chondro.site · CC0
PMID 25172825 · fig. diagram based on Fig 1 Articular cartilage zones: superficial (tangential), middle (transitional), deep (radial), calcified, and subchondral bone. Collagen fiber orientation shown per zone.
Chondro / chondro.site · CC0
PMID 9571449 · fig. diagram based on Fig 1 Growth plate zones: resting, proliferating, hypertrophic, calcified cartilage, and primary spongiosa.
Chondro / chondro.site · CC0
PMID 9747793 · fig. diagram based on Fig 1