Question

a microfracture surgery of the knee to repair lost cartilage involves causing a small hole in the femur. this allows bone marrow to leave the femur and gather in the knee. there, natural signals from your body can direct the stem cells already in your bone marrow to differentiate into cartilage cells! its very cool. what kind of stem cell does this procedure take advantage of?

multiple choice

embryonic stem cells
somatic stem cells
totipotent stem cells
induced pluripotent stem cells

Explanation:

• Embryonic stem cells are from embryos, not bone marrow.
• Somatic stem cells (adult stem cells) are in bone marrow and can differentiate into specific cell types like cartilage cells.
• Totipotent stem cells can form a complete organism, not relevant here.
• Induced pluripotent stem cells are lab - made from adult cells, not the natural ones in bone marrow.

Answer:

somatic stem cells