Connective Tissue Flashcards

1
Q

What are the 4 types of connective tissues?

A
  • Propper connective tissue
  • Cartilage connective tissue
  • Bone connective tissue
  • Blood connective tissue
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2
Q

What are the main 3 components of connective tissue?

A
  • Three types of fibres
  • Ground substance
  • Main featured cells
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3
Q

What is the main constituent of connective tissue?

A

Mostly constituted of extracellular matrix rather than cells

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4
Q

What is the extracellular matrix made up of?

A

Consists of different combinations of ground substances and protein fibres

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5
Q

Why is there such a large variety of connective tissues in the body?

A

Due to the differences in composition of cells, fibres and ground substances

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6
Q

What are all connective tissues formed from?

A

Mesenchyme
- From the middle later of the embryo - the mesoderm

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7
Q

What is the function of ligaments?

A

Join bone to bone

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8
Q

What are the three types of fibers within connective tissue?

A
  • Collagen fibers
  • Elastic fibers
  • Reticular fibers
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9
Q

What are collagen fibers?

A

The strongest and most abundant type of fiber.

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10
Q

What are collagen fibers made from?

A

Created by fibroblast cells

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11
Q

What is type 1 collagen?

A

Tendons, ligaments, skin and bone

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12
Q

What is type 2 collagen?

A

= Cartilage

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13
Q

What are the structure and function elastic fibers?

A

Stretch and recoil like rubber bands
Have a rubber like quality
Form a branching framework

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14
Q

What are elastic fibers made from?

A

Made out of the protein elastin

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15
Q

Where are elastic fibers found?

A

Found in skin, lungs and large blood vessel walls

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16
Q

What is the structure of reticular fibers?

A

Short, finer collagen fibers
Have a sponge like network

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17
Q

Where are reticular fibers found?

A

Found in long bones and immune tissue.

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18
Q

What is the function of reticular fibers?

A

Suspends growing erythrocytes and plasma cells from its network. e.g. bone marrow, spleen, lymph nodes

It is supportive to areas with rapidly changing populations of proliferating cells

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19
Q

Overall what are the 5 key points of collagen fibers?

A
  • Most abundant
  • Flexible
  • Tensile strength
  • Collagen fibrils
  • Wavy
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20
Q

Overall what are the 4 key points of elastic fibers?

A
  • Thinner
  • Arranged in a branching pattern
  • Allow tissues to stretch and distend
  • Interwoven with collagen
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21
Q

Overall what are the 3 key points of reticular fibers?

A
  • Thin and short
  • Form fine meshwork
  • Type 3 collagen
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22
Q

What is ground substance?

A

The background around where fibres and cells are located

An amorphous (shapeless) gelatinous material. Transparent and colourless, fills the space between fibres and cells.

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23
Q

What 3 molecules make up most of the ground substance?

A
  • Hyaluronic acid
  • Proteoglycans
  • Glycoproteins

=> all good at absorbing water - 90% of ECM is made up of water - allows tissue to return to original shape when compressed or deformed

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24
Q

What cells are found in the ECM?

A
  • Fibroblasts
  • Macrophages
  • Adipocytes
  • Mast cells
  • Stem cells
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25
Q

What does the suffix ‘blast’ mean?

A

= form tissue

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26
Q

What does the suffix ‘cyte’ mean?

A

= maintain tissue

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27
Q

What does the suffix ‘clast’ mean?

A

= erode tissue

28
Q

What are osteoblasts?

A

The blast cells of bone - bone forming cells

29
Q

What are osteocytes?

A

Mature bone cells that monitor and maintain bone matrix.

Remodel bone

30
Q

What are do fibroblasts do ?

A

They secrete collagen and elastin.

31
Q

What is the function of fibroblasts?

A

Least specialised connective tissue cell and can differentiate into other types of cell found in the ECM.

32
Q

What is the structure of fibroblasts?

A

Spindle shaped with an actively secreting matrix.
Cytoplasm is basophilic - stains purple with H&E stain

Adults have less active fibroblasts - fibrocytes - have paler stained cytoplasm.

33
Q

What are adipocytes?

A

Fat cells

2 types: - White fat cells
- Brown fat cells

34
Q

What are white fat cells?

A
  • Unilocular - have a single large lipid droplet
  • Have a large diameter and are found in
    subcutaneous, omentum and mesentry
    regions
  • Most common in adults
35
Q

What are brown fat cells ?

A
  • Multilocular - have multiple large lipid
    droplets
  • Smaller than white adipocytes
  • Present in new borns + hibernating animals
  • Located around kidney, aorta and regions of
    the neck and mediastinum in adults.
36
Q

What are macrophages and what is their function?

A

Phagocytes - that ‘eat’ particles such as bacteria

37
Q

What do macrophages derive from?

A

From wite blood cells called monocytes

38
Q

What are mast cells?

A

Cells containing large secretory granules of heparin proteoglycan - a weak anticoagulant

  • also contain histamine - promotes an
    inflammatory reaction when secreted
  • Histamine also causes constriction of
    bronchioles and vasodilation
39
Q

Where are mast cells located?

A

Found close to small blood vessels in loose connective tissue.

40
Q

What are 3 examples of loose connective tissue?

A
  • areolar
  • reticular
  • adipose
41
Q

What are 3 examples of dense connective tissue?

A
  • regular
  • irregular
  • elastic
42
Q

What is 4 features of loose connective tissue and what is an example of it?

A
  • Little collagen
  • Lots of ground substance
  • Viscous and gel like
  • Inflammatory and immune reactions
    e.g. => Spleen - key immune system organ
43
Q

What 3 cells and fibres is areolar tissue made up of?

A
  • Fibroblast cells
  • Collagen fibers
  • Elastic fibers
44
Q

What 3 cells is adipose tissue made up of?

A
  • Adipocytes
  • Nucleus
  • Lipid vacuole
45
Q

What 2 cells and fibres is reticular tissue made up of?

A
  • Developing blood cells
  • Reticular fibres
46
Q

What are the 5 key features of dense regular connective tissue?

A
  • Ordered
  • Densely packed
  • Little ECM
  • Parallel
  • Maximum strength
47
Q

What are the 5 key features of dense irregular connective tissue?

A
  • Mostly collagen
  • Cells are sparse
  • Fibroblast
  • Strength
  • Resistance to tearing and stretching
48
Q

What type of tissue is blood?

A

= a connective tissue

49
Q

What is the main functions of blood?

A

Transport gases, nutrients, waste, cells and hormones throughout the body.

Regulate pH, temperature, water content of cells and protect against disease via phagocytic white blood cells and antibodies.

50
Q

What 4 cells make up blood?

A
  • Erythrocytes (red blood cells)
  • Leukocytes (white blood cells)
  • Platelets
  • Plasma
51
Q

What % of blood volume is plasma?

A

about 55%

52
Q

What is plasma made up of?

A
  • A solution of water (92%), proteins, lipids,
    inorganic ions (salts) and glucose.
  • Proteins include hormones
  • Salts include urea - waste products of cells
    extracted by the kidneys
53
Q

What is the function of cartilage?

A

Cartilage = connective tissue

Strong, flexible and semi-rigid supporting tissue. Can withstand compression forces and can bend.

54
Q

What is cartilage made up of?

A
  • Chondroblasts
  • Chondrocytes
  • Extracellular matrix
55
Q

What are the 3 types of cartilage?

A

Hyaline
Fibrocartilage
Elastic cartilage

56
Q

What is hyaline cartilage and what is an example of it?

A

Most common - has glassy appearance. Sparse collagen.

E.g. articular cartilage

57
Q

What is fibrocartilage and what is an example of it?

A
  • Reinforced with parallel bundles of collagen fibres
  • The strongest

e.g. tendon insertions and invertebral disks

58
Q

What is elastic cartilage and what is an example of it?

A

Flexible and resilient - has elastic fibres as well as collagen fibres

E.g. external ear and epiglottis

59
Q

What is the main function of bone?

A

= support

60
Q

What is the structure of bone?

A

A strong, flexible and semi rigid supporting tissue. Can withstand compression forces and can bend.

61
Q

What is bone made up of?

A

Osteoblast, osteoclasts and osteocyte cells as well as extracellular matrix.

ECM is made up of an organic matrix, collagen fibres and proteins.

Only 25% of bone is water.

62
Q

How does bone calcify?

A

Before the ECM is calcified the tissue is called osteoid.
When calcium and phosphate ion concentration rises high enough they are deposited into the ECM calcifying the bone.

63
Q

What are bone forming cells called?

A

Osteoblasts

64
Q

What are bone breaking down cells called?

A

Osteoclasts

65
Q

What are bone re-modelling cells called?

A

Osteocytes