What does the root word chondro mean?

• A. Bone
• B. Muscle
• C. Cartilage
• D. Nerve

Answer: (C)

Chondro- denotes cartilage, the flexible connective tissue that cushions joints and lines various structures like the nose and ears. In medical terms you’ll see it in words such as chondromalacia or chondrosarcoma, which all point to cartilage. Other common roots identify different tissues—bone uses osteo-, muscle uses myo-, and nerve uses neur- or neuro-. So the meaning that best fits is cartilage.