Ordinary Connective Tissue Flashcards
What 3 categories can connective tissue be split into?
Dense, loose and specialised
What 3 components does all connective tissue have?
Fibres, ground substance and cells. Fibres + ground substance = ECM
What is ground substance?
Liquid intermediary for floaty bits.
What is the most common CT cell?
Fibroblasts
What is the role of fibroblasts?
Lives to supply the tissue around it with structural fibres.
What types of dense CT is there?
Regular, irregular and elastic
What are the types of loose tissue?
Areolar, reticular and adipose
Where does connective tissue develop from?
The mesenchyme - which comes from the mesoderm layer of the embryo.
What is the second most common CT cell?
Fibrocytes
What 3 protein fibres are there?
Collagen, reticulin and elastin
Define features of fibrocytes.
- Not very active
- More mature
- Spindle shaped
Where is collagen found and why?
Skin, bone, tendons, cartilage - important for tensile strength and support.
Where is reticulin tissue found and why?
Spleen, lymph nodes, bone marrow - important for structural support.
Where is elastin found and why?
Lungs, elastic arteries, elastic ligaments and skin - elasticity.
What are the features of areolar CT?
Lesser cells and more ground substance airy
Why is areolar CT found?
Under the epithelial layer of organ systems with external openings e.g. under the dermis of the skin.
What are the features of dense CT?
More fibres and less ground substance.
What are features of irregular CT and where can they be found?
Randomly oriented fibres e.g. in the deep dermis of the skin.
What are features of regular CT and where can they be found?
More organised - parallel bundles of fibres like in the tendons.
Describe adipose tissue (features and what it looks like).
- Fat tissue
- Mostly cells - adipocytes - which store lipids for later use
- Looks like ‘chicken wire’
Where is adipose tissue found?
Under skin
Describe reticular tissue (features and what it looks like).
Like areolar tissue but with a woven mess of reticular fibres rather than collagen and elastin.
Where is reticular tissue found and why?
Around the lymph nodes, spleen, kidney - holds your blood in place in many organs.
