Lab 3: CT Reading Flashcards
Functions of connective tissue
Support, defense, transport, storage, and repair
Connective tissues are mainly composed of:
- Extracellular elements
- A limited number of cells
Types of embryonic connective tissues
- Mesenchymal
- Mucous
Types of adult connective tissues
Connective tissue proper
- Loose (areolar)
- Reticular
- Adipose
- Dense Irregular
- Dense Regular (Collagenous & Elastic)
Types of specialized connective tissues
- Supporting tissues (Cartilage & Bone)
- Blood
The extracellular matrix can be subdivided into:
- Fibers
- Amorphous ground substance
- Extracellular fluid
Three types of fibers
- Collagen
- Reticular
- Elastic
Collagen fibers
- Most abundant
- Inelastic
Elastic fibers
-Highly elastic
Reticular fibers
- Thin, branching, carbohydrate-coated fibers composed of type III collagen
- Form delicate networks around smooth muscle cells, certain epithelial cells, adipocytes, nerve fibers, and blood vessels
Amorphous ground substance
Constitutes the gel-like matrix in which the fibers and cells are embedded and through which extracellular fluid diffuses
Amorphous ground substance is composed of:
- Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs)
- Proteoglycans
- Glycoproteins
Extracellular fluid
- Fluid component of blood, similar to plasma
- Percolates throughout the ground substance
- Carries nutrients, oxygen, signaling molecules, and other blood-borne materials to and carbon dioxide and waste products from cells
Connective tissues cells (7)
- Fibroblasts
- Macrophages (histiocytes)
- Plasma cells
- Mast cells
- Pericytes
- Fat cells (adipocytes)
- Leukocytes
Mesenchymal and mucous connective tissues
Limited to the embryo
Loose (areolar) connective tissue
Distributed widely
Reticular connective tissue
Forms a network of thin reticular fibers that constitute the structural framework of bone marrow and many lymphoid structures
Adipose tissue
Composed of fat cells, reticular fibers, and a rich vascular supply.
There are two types of adipose tissue:
- white (unilocular)
- brown (multilocular)
Dense irregular connective tissue
Coarse, almost haphazardly arranged bundles of collagen fibers interlaced with few elastic and reticular fibers
Dense regular connective tissue
Composed either of:
- Thick, parallel arrays of collagenous fibers, as in tendons and ligaments
- Parallel bundles of elastic fibers, as in the ligamentum nuchae, the ligamentum flava, and the suspensory ligament of the penis
