✅Connective Tissues Flashcards
What does the musculoskeletal system do?
- Bones act as stiff levers
• Muscles act to move bones
• Movement only occurs at joints
• Tendons connect muscles to bones - Ligaments limit movement of joints
What are examples of what bone connective tissues do?
– Support the body
– Protect vital organs
– Reservoir of minerals
– Leverage
– Blood cell production
What are examples of what cartilage connect tissues do?
– Support hard
tissues (bones)
– Smooth, gliding surfaces for articulations
– Development and growth of long bones
What are 3 types of cartilage connective tissue?
Hyaline
Fibrous
Elastic
Describe Hyaline (common Connector)
Covers articular bone surfaces, connects ribs to sternum, abundant structural component in the respiratory system
Describe Fibrous (strong and rigid)
Intervertebral discs, abundant fibrous elements
Describe Elastic (flexible)
External ear, epiglottis, provides framework, large number of elastic fibres
Where are intervertebral discs?
Between each pair of vertebrae
What are the two regions of intervertebral discs?
- Annulus Fibrosis
- Nucleus Pulposus
What do intervertebral discs do?
- Allow movement between vertebrae
- Provide Load bearing
Describe the Annulus Fibrosis (fibrous ring)
– Layers of collagen in fibrocartilage
– Collagen fibres run parallel to each other within the layers
– Different layers are at different orientations
– Angles 60-75 ̊to horizontal
Describe the nucleus pulposis
Highly hydrated gel core (75% water)
What happens with loading of intervertebral discs?
• Disc compresses
• Side walls bulge
• Collagen fibres control wall bulge
How do you get a herniated disc?
Failure either through end plates or disc wall when loading
What happens with failure of end plates of discs?
Extrusion of disc into vertebra reduces disc height & compresses nerve
When is a spine flexed?
When leaning over
What does a flexed spine mean?
That the front of disc in compression back in tension
What happens when a disc is in flexion?
Compressedside of disc bulges, tensile side straightens
What happens in forward flexion?
nucleus pulposus
is squeezed backwards
What happens when a disc is in rotation?
In one direction fibres in annulus fibrosis are stretched, fibres in other direction relax
What is a herniated disc?
• Discprotrudesand thus reduces the intervertebral foramen
• Compresses the nerve
What are ligaments?
Ligaments are dense fibrous tissues.
What is ligaments function?
To connect the articular extremities of bones (i.e. Bone to bone)
What do ligaments help?
To stabilise the articulations of bones at joints
What do anterior discs have?
havelarge anterior ligament
What are posterior discs?
ligament between spinal column and vertebrae
What does the anterior longitudinal ligament prevent?
Hyperextention
What are the spinal ligaments?
- Anterior Longitudinal Ligament
• Posteriorlongitudinal ligament
• Interspinousligament
• Superspinousligament
• Ligamentumflavum
What are tendons?
Dense fibrous connective tissues.
What do tendons do?
They attach muscles to bones.
They transmit the forces exerted by the muscles to the attaches bones
What are articulations? (Joints)
- Point of contact between two bones
- Point where bones are held together
How are articulations classified?
- Function
2. Structure
What are the joints classified by function?
– synarthrosis -> Immovable
– amphiarthrosis -> slightly movable
diarthrosis -> freely movable
What are the joints classified by structure?
- Fibrous -> Synarthrosis
- Cartilaginous -> Amphiarthrosis
Synovial -> Diarthrosis
Describe suture
– Bones tightly bound by minimal fibrous tissue
– Skull only
Describe Syndemoses
– Bones connected by ligaments
– E.g. tibiofibular ligament, interosseous membrane of
radius/ulna
Describe Gomphoses
– Peg in socket joint
– Only found in teeth/alveoli
Describe Synchondrosis
– Hyaline cartilage unites bones
– Epiphyseal growth plates
– Costal cartilage-sternum
Describe Symphyses
– Fibrocartilage unites bones
– Pubic symphysis
– Intervertebral disc
What are the most common joints in the body?
Synovial Joints
Why are Synovial joints the most mobile?
– Completely enclosed in joint capsule formed from ligamentous
connective tissue
– Surrounded by a synovial membrane
What are components of the synovial joints?
– Articular surfaces on bone with hyaline cartilage, the articular
cartilages
– Synovial fluid within capsule lubricates joint
What surround the entire synovial joint, to support, strengthen, reinforce the joint?
Ligaments
What pass across or around a synovial joint to transmit force from muscles
Tendons
What may be connected to the synovial joint cavity or may be separate from it?
Bursae
What do bursae do?
Reduce friction
Shock absorbers
Why do Some synovial joints have cartilage, fat pads, menisci and/or articular discs (e.g. knee)
– subdivide a synovial cavity,
– channel the flow of synovial fluid,
– allow variations in the shapes of articular surfaces
What are the 6 types of movement joints?
- Gliding
- hinge
- pivot
- condyloid
- saddle
- Ball-and-sock
What are cartilage?
translucent elastic tissue that can be found on some articular bony surfaces and in some organs such as the nose and the ear.
What are fascia?
covers body structures and separates them from each other
