Cartilage and ligaments

Bone doesn’t work alone — it relies on softer connective tissues to cushion, stabilise, and link it together. Cartilage is a firm but flexible tissue, softer than bone and without its own blood supply, that covers the ends of bones inside joints (reducing friction) and gives shape to structures like the outer ear and the tip of the nose. Discs of cartilage between the vertebrae of the spine act as shock-absorbing cushions and let the spine flex.

Ligaments are tough, fibrous bands of connective tissue that connect bone to bone across a joint, holding the joint together and limiting how far it can move so it stays stable. This is different from a tendon, which connects muscle to bone and transmits a muscle’s pulling force — you will meet tendons again in the next unit on the muscular system.