62. reticular connective tissue

Question 1

what is reticular tissue

Answer 1

-network of reticular fibres made from type III collagen.
-forms cross link to form a meshwork (reticulin), acting as a supporting mesh for soft tissues like liver, bone marrow + the organs of lymphatic systm

Question 2

what sugars do the fibres contain?

Answer 2

galactose, glucose , fructose, mannose

Question 3

what are reticular fibres usually stained with and what term is given due to this

Answer 3

stained black - silver imprgnation
term = argyrophilic

Question 4

what other staining can they be identified with?

Answer 4

periodic acid–Schiff (PAS) staining. Due to the high content of sugar chains bound to type III collagen α chains.

Question 5

where do you find a lot of reticular fibres?

Answer 5

characterizes the stroma of bone marrow, the spleen, and lymph nodes (where they support proliferating cells and phagocytic cells.)

Question 6

Within reticular connective tissue exists the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS). what is it?

Answer 6

consists primarily of monocytes and tissue macrophages.
- . Macrophages important in repairing tissue after damage, debris removal + processing and
presentation of antigens for lymphocyte activation

Question 7

where do the macrophages come from in MPS

Answer 7

from bone marrow precursor cells.
They divide and produce monocytes that circulate in blood

Question 8

what is reticular fibres a precursor to?

Answer 8

fibroblasts - secretes collagen/structural proteins (helps in wound healing)