Shark and ray cartilage canals show blood vessels can exist in mature cartilage without endochondral bone formation
Abstract
Cartilage in adult tetrapod skeletons is known to lack blood vessels. In young birds/mammals, however, a dense network of vasculature-containing tunnels-cartilage canals-perforates the growing skeleton, nourishing cartilage, and developing ossification centers for later bone. As the canals and their vascular network regress as the animals age, healthy cartilage in adults is typically regarded as avascular. We use diverse tissue characterization and visualization (e.g., light/electron microscopy, microCT) to show skeletons of adult rays/sharks (elasmobranchs) possess persistent cartilage canals. Elasmobranch canal morphology and tissue composition support a structural analogy with mammalian cartilage canals, suggesting that early jawed vertebrates had vasculature-invaded cartilage. However, the anatomical location of canals-extending away from, not toward, mineralized tissue-and the lack of endochondral ossification in ray/shark cartilage suggest functions divergent from amniotes. We describe distinctive features and variation in elasmobranch cartilage canals, discuss their potential for tissue mineralization, and implications for their presence in an animal clade with continuously growing cartilaginous skeletons.
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BibTeX
@article{flaum2026shark,
title = {{Shark and ray cartilage canals show blood vessels can exist in mature cartilage without endochondral bone formation}},
author = {Benjamin Flaum and Ronald Seidel and Maximus Yeatman-Biggs and Theda I. Hinrichs and Jana Ciecierska-Holmes and Salman O. Matan and Emilio J. Gualda and Kady Lyons and Victoria Camilieri-Asch and Susan R. McGlashan and Laura Ekstrom and Lawrence Bonassar and Mélanie Debiais-Thibaud and Daniel Baum and Michael J. Blumer and Mason N. Dean},
journal = {iScience},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.isci.2026.117871},
url = {https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(26)03254-2},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Shark and ray cartilage canals show blood vessels can exist in mature cartilage without endochondral bone formation
AU - Benjamin Flaum
AU - Ronald Seidel
AU - Maximus Yeatman-Biggs
AU - Theda I. Hinrichs
AU - Jana Ciecierska-Holmes
AU - Salman O. Matan
AU - Emilio J. Gualda
AU - Kady Lyons
AU - Victoria Camilieri-Asch
AU - Susan R. McGlashan
AU - Laura Ekstrom
AU - Lawrence Bonassar
AU - Mélanie Debiais-Thibaud
AU - Daniel Baum
AU - Michael J. Blumer
AU - Mason N. Dean
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - iScience
DO - 10.1016/j.isci.2026.117871
UR - https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(26)03254-2
AB - Cartilage in adult tetrapod skeletons is known to lack blood vessels. In young birds/mammals, however, a dense network of vasculature-containing tunnels-cartilage canals-perforates the growing skeleton, nourishing cartilage, and developing ossification centers for later bone. As the canals and their vascular network regress as the animals age, healthy cartilage in adults is typically regarded as avascular. We use diverse tissue characterization and visualization (e.g., light/electron microscopy, microCT) to show skeletons of adult rays/sharks (elasmobranchs) possess persistent cartilage canals. Elasmobranch canal morphology and tissue composition support a structural analogy with mammalian cartilage canals, suggesting that early jawed vertebrates had vasculature-invaded cartilage. However, the anatomical location of canals-extending away from, not toward, mineralized tissue-and the lack of endochondral ossification in ray/shark cartilage suggest functions divergent from amniotes. We describe distinctive features and variation in elasmobranch cartilage canals, discuss their potential for tissue mineralization, and implications for their presence in an animal clade with continuously growing cartilaginous skeletons.
SN - 2589-0042
ER -