Chapter 2- Tissue types (2) Flashcards
Give an overview of elastic fibres
1- Composed of elastin.
2- Thinner than collagen
3- Stretches readily and return to their original form after a force is removed.
4- Ideal for supporting moving structures, e.g, skin, lungs
What are the cells inside the connective tissue called?
Fibroblasts
What are fibroblasts?
They secrete the fibres and the ground substance.
There are other less, numerous cells. What are they and whats their function?
1- Plasma cells- produces antibodies
2- Macrophages- responsible for phagocytosis- eating other cells
3- Mast cells- detects foreign organisms and initiates local inflammatory responses against them
What are the types of connective tissue?
1- Specialist connective tissue- cartilage, blood, bone, etc
2- Connective tissue proper
Connective tissue proper is separated into two types. What are the two types?
Loose connective tissue proper- fibres loosely arranged
Dense- fibres densely arranged.
Loose connective tissue can be subdivided into what?
areolar and adipose
Dense connective tissue can be sub divided into what?
Regular and irregular
Give an overview of loose areolar connective tissue proper
1- Is the packaging material of the body
2- Soft and flexible
3- Most widely distributed form of connective tissue
What is the function of the loose areolar connective tissue proper?
It traps fluid, e.g, bruising is an example of fluid being trapped.
What is an areola?
Small open space
Give an overview of loose adipose connective tissue proper
1- Similar to areolar in structure, but its nutrient storing ability is much greater.
2- It is largely made up of fat cells (adipocytes)
What do adipocytes look like and why do they look like that?
They appear as white spaces as all organelles have been pushed to the side and the whole cell lis occupied by a fat droplet.
What is the function of loose adipose connective tissue proper?
1- Acts as a shock absorber
2- Acts as insulation
3- Acts as an energy storage site.
Give an overview of the structure of dense regular connective tissue proper
1- Highly fibrous
2- Contains closely packed bundles of collagen fibres, all running in the same direction.
What does the structure of dense regular connective tissue proper enable?
Allows enormous, tensile strength- resistance to pulling in a single direction.
What is dense regular connective tissue proper useful for?
Ideal for tendons- attaching muscle to bone
Ideal for ligaments- attaching bone to bone
Give an overview of the structure of the dense irregular connective tissue proper
1- The same basic elements as dense regular, but the bundles of collagen fibres are much thicker and run in all directions.
What does the structure of the dense irregular connective tissue proper enable?
The structure allows strength in all directions
Where is the dense irregular connective tissue proper useful for?
Useful in skin, and for certain internal organs, e.g, kidney
What is an epithelial tissue?
A sheet of cells that covers a body surface. They form boundaries between different environments.
Epithelia come in two main forms:
1- Covering epithelia- lines the surfaces of the outer body and internal organs.
2- Glandular epithelia- forms the various glands of the body
What is the function of covering epithelia?
1- Protection
2- Absorption
What is the structure of epithelial cells?
1- Usually polyhedral in shape
2- Has strong attachments between adjacent cells.
What are the characteristics of epithelial tissue?
Most epithelial tissue is highly regenerative- able to recover from damage
They are highly innervated- has sensory and motor nerve fibres
They are avascular- have no blood vessels
