Connective, Muscle and Neural Tissues Flashcards
What is connective tissue?
- Most abundant and widely distributed tissue of the body.
- Includes bone, blood, cartilage, fat and other types of tissues that support, protect, and insulate organs.
- Made up of cells, fibers and ground substance.
- Fibers and ground substance make up the noncellular matrix of the tissue
Connective tissue - 3 types of fibers
1) Elastic
2) Reticular
3) Collagen
Elastic fibers
Form a network within the tissue, as their fibers join one another.
Reticular fibers
Thin fibers (similar to elastic fibers), which form a network (reticulum) around muscle cells and provide support to the blood vessel walls.
Collagen fibers
- Made up of the protein, collagen
- Occur in different types, which are tough yet flexible
- Lay parallel to one another
- Provide great strength in bones, tendons and ligaments
Mesenchymal cells
- A connective tissue cell
- Respond to the presence of pathogens (an organism that can produce disease)
- Transform into other cells that produce antimicrobial substances.
- Can also change into ‘fibroblasts’
Fibroblasts
- A mesenchymal, connective tissue cell
- Assists with wound healing
Fat cells
- Found in adipose connective tissue
- Contain large droplets of oil or fat
- Nucleus is pushed over to one side
Melanocyte
- One connective tissue cell that produces pigment of the skin and hair.
- It’s brown pigment, melanin, colours the skin and hair fibers.
Plasma cells
A cell that responds to pathogens by producing antibodies
Mast cells
- Small, mobile cells that contain granules (particles in a cell’s cytoplasm that show up as small spots when the cell is examined through a microscope)
- Following injury, the granules are released to dilate blood vessels to increase blood flow to the injured area
Macrophages (there are 2 types)
Involved in defence of the body tissues
1) Wandering macrophage
2) Sessile macrophage
Wandering macrophages
Move around through tissues, phagocytizing (to ingest, devour) bacteria and other pathogens.
Sessile macrophages
Stay in a localised area of the tissue, and actively protect the tissue from inflammatory damage
Lymphocyte
- A white blood cell involved in defence of the body tissues
- Stimulated by foreign substances
- Reverts to antibody-producing plasma cells
The cells of connective tissues
1) Mesenchymal cells
2) Fibroblasts
3) Fat cells
4) Melanocytes
5) Plasma cells
6) Mast cells
7) Macrophages - wandering and sessile
8) Lymphocytes (white blood cells)
9) Red blood cells
Muscle tissues consist of…
muscle cells bound together, end to end, to form long muscle fibers. A muscle fiber often contains several nuclei, because it is composed of several cells.
3 types of muscle tissue
1) Striated
2) Cardiac
3) Smooth
Striated muscle
- Under voluntary control (you must move to contract it)
- Contain nuclei
- Have bands (lines; termed “striations”)
- Striations represent areas where the cellular microfilaments overlap
Cardiac muscle
- Involuntary control (acts on its own, works automatically)
- Have nuclei and striations
- Only found in the heart
Striated muscle is found in…
moving parts of the body (for example, the limbs)
Smooth muscle
- Involuntary control (acts on its own, works automatically)
- Contains cells with many nuclei
- No striations - because there are fewer microfilaments, giving it a “smooth” appearance
- Found in linings of visceral organs (i.e. stomach, urinary bladder) and linings of blood vessels, where is provides support.
The nerve cell is uniquely adapted to…
generate and transmit impulses.
Cell body
- Found in nerve cells
- Where the cytoplasm, nucleus, organelles and other structures reside
Axon
- Found in nerve cells
- Ends in numerous fibers
Nerve impulses travel down the ____, away from the ___ ____.
Axon; Cell Body
To reach the cell body, impulses arrive by means of treelike branches, called _________
Dendrites
Dendrites
- Found in nerve cells
- Treelike branches that receive impulses from other nerve cells, transport them to the cell body for an appropriate interpretation, and continue them down the neural pathway.
