Histology - Connective Tissue Flashcards
Mesenchyme
Abundant cells, euchromatic nuclei & with lots of cytoplasmic processes. Abundant ground substance. Few, if any, reticular fibers.
Mucous Connective Tissue
Scattered cells with heterochromatic nuclei. Fair amt ground substance. Clearly visible fibrils and fibers.
Connective Tissues Proper Types
- Loose (areolar) (LCT) 2a. Dense irrecular 2b. Dense regular 3. Reticular tissue
Loose (areolar) connective tissue (LCT)
Primarily beneath epithelium, LOTS of cells, fair amt of ground substance. Loosely arranged ECM, “woven mat”. Site of immune responses.
Dense Irregular Connective Tissue (DiRCT)
Clear spaces, multidirectional. Fewer cells, much less ground tissue. Large bundles of collagen fibers oriented in multiple directions.
Dense Regular Connective Tissue (DRCT)
Fewer cells, box car nuclear arrangement, unidirectional. Little ground substance. Collagen fibers: Large bundles oriented in one direction.
Reticular Tissue Location
Stroma of liver, spleen, bone marrow, lymph nodes, endocrine organs
Reticular Tissue Features
LOTs of cells, Meshwork of delicate specifically stained, black fibers (silver-stained). LOTs of open spaces for lymph, blood, or cells to move through. “Chicken-wire” appearance.
Adipose tissues
Highly cellular, packed, surrounded by delicate ECM of reticular fibers. Not polarized or joined by tight junctions, not contractile, and do not conduct impulses. Mesenchymal origin.
White Adipose Tissue
Throughout body, large round oval cells, appear white. Long term energy homeostasis.
Brown Adipose Tissue
Multilocular adipocytes that are smaller and appear vacuolated. Heat-generation. Found mostly in infants (back, neck, shoulders) and adults around organs.
Conective Tissue Support Functions
structural framework, harnesses muscle contraction into movement, scaffolding of gland and organs, medium for metabolic exchange, protection, fat storage.
Ground substance
Clear, gel-like substance of varying density depending on water content that occupies the space between the cells & fibers. Usually lost with histological processing, so appears empty. Composed of Glycosaminoglycans, Proteoglycans and their aggregates, and multiadhesive glycoproteins.
Glyscosaminoglycans (GAGs)
Repeating, mostly sulfated, disaccharide units.
Proteoglycans (PGs)
Core protein (I) + GAGs (-). Sulfated GAGs give them a high negative charge that attracts Na+ and thus water, forming a hydration shell. Present in ALL CTs, purposeof hydrating ECM.
Proteoglycan Aggregates
A core component of cartiledge ECM. Individual PG’s indirectly bound to hyaluronan (re-enforced by link protein) creating giant macromolecules that attract large volumes of water, giving ECM gel-like “shock- absorbers”.
Primary function of GAGs & PGs in BM
Charge-based filtration barrier
Multiadhesive glycoproteins (MGPs)
Multidomain and multifunctional molecules that stabilize the ECM assembly and link it to the CT.
Multiadhesive glycoprotein examples
Fibronectin, Laminin, Tenascin, Osteopontin, Entactin/Nidogen
ECM Fiber Types
Elastic, Collagen, Reticular
Elastic fibers
Typically thinner than collagen fibers and often arranged in a branching patter. Look like “rubber bands” that have stretched then recoiled. Permit tissues to be stretched and then recoil. Found in skin, large blood vessels, lung walls.
Specific stain for elastic fibers
Orcein (stain elastic fibers brown or black). Broken rubber band appearance. Smaller than collagen fibers.
Fibrillin microfibrils
Surround and permeate elastic fibers, helping to organize their growth.
Collagen
Most abundant structural component (30% of dry weight of the body). Imparts tensile strength to tissues. Flexible but not elastic.
Collagen types
Fibrillar (I, II, III), Sheet-forming (IV), Anchoring (VII).