Periosteum Bone is surrounded by periosteum, aconnective tissue continuous with ligaments that attach to bone. Cartilage Cartilage is firm, yet softer than bone, andoften caps the ends of bones to provide for a suitable surface forarticulation. Cartilage also provides support for structures such as the outerear, nasal septum, and trachea, and connects the ribs to the sternum, allowingfor greater expansion of the rib cage during breathing. Tendons and Ligaments Tendons and Ligaments are dense, regular,arrays of connective tissue containing cartilage and fibrocyte cells. Themajority of this tissue is matrix.
Tendons connect muscle to bone.
Ligamentsconnect bone to bone. Bone Microanatomy Cells of bone proper include osteocytes,osteoblast, and osteoclasts. Other cells found in bone include chondrocytes,nerve cells of the periosteum, blood cells in the marrow, and fat cells inyellow marrow of the diaphysis. Osteocytes are bone maintenance cells and arefound in bone spaces called lacunae. These cells control mineral storage inbone tissue.