Meaning & use
ground substance
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountablespecialist
The gel-like material between the cells and fibers of connective tissue, giving the tissue cushioning and a way to move nutrients.
Grammar: Uncountable: the ground substance is a gel.
Patterns
- the ground substance of something
Water-holding molecules make up much of the ground substance of cartilage.
Nutrients move through the ground substance to reach the cells.
Bacteria can break down the ground substance and spread through tissue.
noununcountablespecialist
In a cell or tissue, the background material that fills space around larger structures.
Grammar: Often used in histology texts.
Patterns
- embedded in the ground substance
Under the microscope, the cells sit embedded in the ground substance.
Stains show the ground substance as pale pink.
The ground substance gives the tissue a smooth, jelly-like feel.
Common combinations
- extracellular ground substance
- The extracellular ground substance holds the fibers in place.
- ground substance and fibers
- Connective tissue is made of cells, ground substance and fibers.
- gel-like ground substance
- The gel-like ground substance cushions joints.
- ground substance of cartilage
- The ground substance of cartilage holds water.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
Commonly confused: ground substance or ground state?
ground substance vs ground state
Ground state is the lowest energy level of an atom, a physics term and not a tissue.
Practice
In connective tissue, the gel that fills the gaps between fibers and cells is called the ___.
Choose one answer.
Ground substance is the gel-like filler. The nucleus is inside a cell, and the others are different structures.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ground substance”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.