5.5 Flashcards
Connective tissue is divided into two broad categories, What are they?
The two broad categories of connective tissue are connective tissue proper and specialized connective tissue.
What are the components of areolar tissue?
Randomly placed fibers and cells suspended in a thick, translucent ground
substance. The tissue appears relaxed, with a myriad of round and star-shaped cells placed among crisscrossing fibers. The predominant cell is the fibroblast, a large spindle-shaped cell that manufactures the elastic, reticular, and collagenous fibers found throughout the tissue
What is the common term for adipose tissue?
Fat
In terms of its form and function, how is brown fat di\erent from white fat?
White Fat – Stores energy, insulates, and cushions organs; has a single large lipid droplet, fewer mitochondria, and less vascularization.
*Brown Fat** – Produces heat (thermogenesis), found in newborns and
hibernating animals; has multiple small lipid droplets, many mitochondria, and a rich blood supply.
What are three subtypes of dense connective tissue?
Three types of dense connective tissue are dense regular, dense irregular, and elastic
Give three examples of specialized connective tissue. How are they similar to connective
tissue proper? How are they different?
- Cartilage
- Similarities: Composed of cells, fibers, and matrix like connective tissue proper
- Differences: It has a firmer, more rigid matrix and is avascular.
- Bone
- Similarities: Contains cells, fibers, and a matrix, similar to connective tissue proper.
- Differences: It is highly dense and calcified, making it the hardest and most rigid type.
- Blood
- Similarities: Consists of cells suspended in a matrix (plasma) with clotting fibers, paralleling connective tissue proper components.
- Differences: It is almost always fluid, enabling transportation throughout the body, but can clot when needed.
Why is cartilage limited in thickness and slow to heal?
It is limited in thickness because nutrients di\use from the surrounding.perichondrium through the matrix to the chondrocytes. Therefore, chondrocytes that are farthest away from the perichondrium are potentially less well
nourished than cells close to it. Cartilage is slow to heal because it is avascular.
Describe three types of cartilage. What are their differences and similarities
Hyaline Cartilage
* Composition & Appearance: Closely packed collagen fibers in a glassy,
blue-white matrix.
* Location & Function: Found in growth plates, joints, and nasal cartilages; supports bone development and provides firm yet flexible support.
* Unique Feature: Enclosed in a perichondrium.
Elastic Cartilage
* Composition & Appearance: Similar to hyaline but with abundant elastic fibers; appears dark (black) microscopically.
* Location & Function: Found in the epiglottis and external ears; provides flexibility and maintains shape.
* Unique Feature: Contains elastic fibers for enhanced elasticity.
Fibrocartilage
* Composition & Appearance: Contains thick bundles of collagen fibers with fewer chondrocytes and lacks a perichondrium; tougher and denser.
* Location & Function: Found in intervertebral discs, pelvic girdle, and knee joints; withstands high pressure and tensile forces.
* Unique Feature: Merges with dense connective tissue for added strength.
Similarities:
* All three types are composed of chondrocytes embedded in an extracellular matrix of fibers and ground substance.
o They provide support and cushioning in various parts of the body.
Differences:
* Fiber Composition: Hyaline and fibrocartilage are rich in collagen (with fibrocartilage having thicker bundles), whereas elastic cartilage has significant elastic fibers.
* Structure & Flexibility: Hyaline is glassy and moderately rigid, elastic cartilage is flexible, and fibrocartilage is dense and robust.
* Perichondrium Presence: Hyaline cartilage has a perichondrium, elastic cartilage may have a similar covering, while fibrocartilage typically lacks it.
Even though blood and bone appear to be grossly di\erent, they both represent types of connective tissue. Why?
Blood and bone both contain cells, a matrix, and extracellular fiber
