And that's because some of these bones basically join together to form individual single bone structures. Now, what exactly is the difference between bone and cartilage? Well, cartilage is a much more flexible type of connective tissue and that's exactly why cartilage is found in those regions of the human body that require a bit more flexibility. For example, cartilage is found in the outer portion of the ear, in the nose, in the trachea as well as in our joints and other parts of the body. Now bone on the other hand is a much more rigid connective tissue and it is capable of resisting tensile and compressive forces. And that's exactly why bone gives us our structure and provides us with support and gives us our shape and it serves many other purposes as we'll see in just a moment.