Connective Tissue Flashcards
What is loose connective tissue?
Areolar, adipose, and reticular
What dense connective tissue?
Regular, irregular, and elastic
What is supportive connective tissues?
Cartilage- Hyaline, fibrocartilage, elastic
Bones- Compact bone, cancellous/spongy bone
Fluid connective tissue
Blood & Lymph
What is Areolar connective tissue?
Underlies most epithelia- represents the connective tissue component of epithelial membranes
Where is Areolar connective tissue found?
Fills space between muscle fibers, surrounds blood & lymph vessels, supports organs in the abdominal cavity
Areolar connective tissue is ______ specialized CT in adults
Least
What are collagen fibers?
Straight and unbranched, wound like a rope from protein subunits, great tensile strength, resists stretching, holds connective tissue together during the movements of the body
What are elastic fibers?
Contain the protein elastin along with lesser amounts of other proteins and glycoproteins. After being stretched or compressed, it will return to its original shape
What are reticular fibers?
Same protein subunit as collagen fibers, they are narrow and arrayed in a branching network
What are Mesenchymal cells?
Multipotent adult stem cells can differentiate into any type of connective tissue cells needed for repair
What are Fibroblasts?
Secrete polysaccharides and proteins to form extracellular matrix collagen, glycosaminoglycans, and proteoglycans
What do Fibroblasts produce?
Secretion produces a viscous ground substance
What are Macrophages?
Component of the immune system, large phagocytic cells
What happens when Macrophages are stimulated?
They release cytokines to recruit other immune system cells to infected sites and stimulate their activities
What is the Mast Cell?
Part of the immune system has many cytoplasmic granules
What are Histamines?
An inflammatory mediator that causes vasodilation and increased blood flow at the site of injury or infection along with itching, swelling, and redness
What are Heparins?
An anticoagulant that enhances local blood flow during inflammation and reduces the development of blood clots in areas of slow-moving blood
What are Lymphocytes?
Numbers increase markedly wherever tissue damage occurs, they may develop into antibody-producing plasma cells
What are Microphages (neutrophils and eosinophils)?
Attracted to the site of an infection or injury by chemicals released by macrophages and mast cells
What are Proteoglycans?
Polysaccharides ( negative charge attracts H2O) and proteins combine
What is Ground Substance?
Proteoglycan attracts and traps water forming the ground substance which absorbs shock
What are the three major classes of macromolecules of the extracellular matrix?
Glycosaminoglycan (GAGs), Fibrous proteins, and Non-Collagen Glycoproteins
What are Glycosaminoglycan (GAGs)?
Large and highly charged polysaccharides that are usually covalently linked to protein in the form of proteoglycans
What are Fibrous proteins?
Primarily members of the collagen family
What are Non-Collagen Glycoproteins?
Carry conventional asparagine-linked oligosaccharides (laminin)
What is the Basement Membrane?
Contains the glycoproteins laminin, type IV collagen, nidogen, and proteoglycan perlecan
What are Glycosaminoglycans?
Unbranched carb polymers that are composed of disaccharide repeating units
What components do Glycosaminoglycans have?
Amino group and a negatively charged carboxyl group (COO-) and sulfate groups (SO3-)
What are Proteoglycans?
Molecules composed of a polypeptide and sulfated glycosaminoglycans attached by chemical bindings
How are Proteoglycans assembled and released?
They are assembled in the cell and released by exocytosis
Where are polypeptide synthesis & monosaccharides added?
ER
Where does elongation of the glycosaminoglycan chain occur?
Trans domain of the Golgi complex
How do glycosaminoglycan and proteoglycans resist mechanical loads?
The hydrated proteoglycans deform and release water under mechanical load, absorbing the impact
Re-hydration of the saccharides occurs after the force is released
What is Adipose Tissue?
Consists mostly of fat (yellow tinge) storage cells, with little extracellular matrix
What permits the rapid storage and mobilization of excess calories as fat droplets in Adipose Tissue?
Capillaries
What contains fat droplets in the Adipose Tissue?
Displaced adipose nuclei and pale staining central vacuole
The number and type of adipocytes depends on the _____ and ________ and can ________ among individuals in the population
Tissue, location, and vary
What is Reticular Tissue?
Mesh-like, supportive framework for soft organs (lymphatic tissue, spleen, and liver)
What do Fibroblastic Reticular Cells produce?
They produce reticular fibers that form the network onto which other cells attach
What is Dense Connective Tissue-Regular?
Closely packed collagen fibers that run parallel to each other enhance tensile strength and resistance to stretching in the direction of the fiber’s orientation
Ex: Ligaments and Tendons
What is Dense Connective Tissue-Irregular?
The direction of fibers is random giving tissue greater strength in all directions and less strength in one particular direction
Ex: Dermis of the skin
What is What is Dense Connective Tissue-Elastic?
Enables structures to regain original shape after stretching
Ex: Arteries, vocal cords, trachea, and bronchial tubes
What is Cartilage-Hyaline?
Mature chondrocytes are seen in lacunae, with dispersed collagen fibers and large amounts of proteoglycans
Ex: Rib cage, nose, covers bones where they meet to form moveable joint
What does the embryonic skeleton do?
Makes a template before bone formation
What is Cartilage-Fibroelastic?
Chondrocytes in lacunae arrange in clusters or alternate rows
Fibrocartilage is tough because it has thick bundles of collagen fibers dispersed through its matrix, limiting movement, preventing bone-bone contact, resisting compression
Ex: Knee and jaw joints and intervertebral disc
What is Cartilage-Elastic?
Scant matrix (collagen and proteoglycans), supportive but bends easily
What is bone’s extracellular matrix?
Contains mostly collagen fibers, embedded in a mineralized ground substance containing hydroxyapatite, a form of calcium phosphate
What would happen if bones didn’t have collagen?
They would be brittle and shatter easily
What would happen if bones didn’t have mineral crystals?
Bones would flex and provide little support
What is fluid connective tissue?
Blood pressure causes the plasma to leak into the interstitial space and most are reabsorbed back into the blood vessels
What is Lymph?
Interstitial fluid once it enters the lymphatic system
Function of Connective Tissue
Connect and protect, store energy reserve
Function of Supporting Tissue
Structural strength and body framework
Function of Fluid Connective Tissues
Transport dissolved materials, protection from pathogens
