PAS 313 - Tissue II: Lecture 4 Flashcards on Connective Tissue Types and Functions

Connective tissue general information

- Most abundant tissue in the human body

- Composed of large amount of intercellular material consisting of ground substance and fibers and relatively few cells

- Most (two exceptions) types of CT are poorly vascularized

4 major types of connective tissue

CT proper, Blood, cartilage, and bone

Connective Tissue composed of :

rich thick intracellular material (matrix) and few loose cells

Intercellular material (matrix)

Composed of ground substance and fibers

CT function

- protection

- supports and bind other tissues together

-provides metabolic needs of other tissues

extracellular material- ground substance

-Serves as a pathway for the transport and exchange of nutrients and waste products between the blood and the tissue cells

- gel like homogenous material produced by CT cells

Different types of fibers

Collagenous, elastic, and reticular

Collagenous fiber

mechanical strength and durability, most abundant protein in body

elastic

-composed of the protein elastin

-capable of stretching and recoiling like a rubber band

Reticular

support amd organize

made of reticulum, thin threads form a delicate network; mesh-like

cell types in connective tissue

fibroblast, fat cell, macrophage, plasma cell, and mast cells

fibroblast

•Most abundant cell

•Star or elongated cell that produces & maintains CT fibers

Fat cell (Adipocytes)

stores fats (lipids)

Macrophage (phagocytes)

Engulf bacteria and debris

Plasma cells

produce antibodies to fight infections

Mast cells

immune response cell, produce histamine. Affect permeability of blood vessels

4 types of CT proper

- Loose/Areolar

-Dense (regular and irregular)

-Elastic tissue

-Adipose

loose (areolar) connective tissue proper appearance

•Abundant intercellular material

•Few cells and scattered fibers

•Very vascular (lots of blood vessels)

Loose areolar CT proper location

Distributed throughout the body:

-Packing material around organs

-Surrounds muscle & blood vessels

-binds skin to underlying muscle

Dense CT proper appearance

•Large number of collagenous fibers packed closely together

•Poor blood supply

•Strong yet flexible

Dense irregular CT proper

fibers are randomly arranged fibers

Dense regular CT proper

fibers are neatly arranged parallel to one another

Dense CT proper location

- Ligaments and tendons (regular)

-Outer covering of the eye (irregular)

Elastic CT proper composition

•Contains many irregularly arranged elastic fibers

•Can be easily stretched and returns to original size

Elastic CT proper location

- walls of arteries

-larynx

-trachea

-bronchi

Adipose CT proper composition

composed of fat cells filled with lipid

Adipose CT proper location

- throughout body

ex; hypodermis (sub-cutaneous tissue)

Cartilage

Composed of:

-.Intercellular material - Chondroitin Sulfate Semisolid, gelatin-like substance

-Cells (chondrocytes)

These cells live in a small space called lacunae

-.Fibers – various types

Cartilage other special characteristics

Perichondrium: Though outer CT covering

Avascular: receives nutrients by diffusion, heals slowly