Note also the lack of blood vessels. In one chondrocyte, the cytoplasm shrunk during the tissue preparation revealing the lacuna or space in which the chondrocyte resides (HA23 arrow). The best way to distinguish fibrocartilage from dense CT is that cartilage has round/oval cells in which you can distinguish cytoplasm (HA23), and dense CT has flattened fibroblast nuclei (HA14). The cells of dense connective tissue are never as abundant or clumped together in isogenous (I) groups as they are in cartilage.

To distinguish fibrocartilage from hyaline and elastic cartilage, it is best to look for the big bundles of type I collagen. Remember that hyaline and elastic cartilage are composed of type II collagen, which does not form fibers.