Session 5 Flashcards

1
Q

Describe the 6 functions of connective tissue

A

1) binding and supporting (such as holding skin, gut, lungs, etc. together)
2) protecting (such as bone protecting vital organs) {fat acting as a ‘shock-absorber’}
3) insulating (fat underlying skin) {bone marrow holding warm blood}
4) storing reserve fuel and cells (bone marrow and fat tissue)
5) transporting substances within the body (blood and interstitium)
6) separation of tissues (fascia and tendons/cartilage)

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2
Q

What is the interstitium?

A

Interstitium = space between tissues and organs of the body

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3
Q

What are the 2 types of connective tissue proper?

A
  • Loose connective tissue (AKA areolar tissue) - areola = ‘little space’
  • Dense connective tissue ( AKA ‘fibrous’ or collagenous tissue)
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4
Q

Describe loose connective tissue

A
  • Lamina propria beneath mucosal membranes has this kind of tissue
  • Attaches to the basal lamina of epithelial cells
  • Least specialised connective tissue in the adult (as it doesn’t really have a speciallised function
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5
Q

Describe dense connective tissue

A
  • Two types:
  • Irregular - Fibres running in different directions
  • Regular - Fibres run parallel to each other
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6
Q

Where are unilocular adipocytes present?

A
  • In loose connective tissue
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7
Q

What colour is adipose tissue in humans and animals?

A
  • White in animals

- Slightly yellow in humans, but it’s still called white adipose tissue in humans also

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8
Q

Describe the structure of unilocular adipocytes

A

A single enormous lipid droplet, with the nucleus, cytoplasm and organelles all squeezed to one side of the cell

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9
Q

What is the function of unilocular/white adipocytes?

A

Function:

  • padding
  • shock absorber
  • insulation
  • energy reserve
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10
Q

Why do adipocytes look white in H and E stain?

A

Difficult to see details in standard H&E because xylene and toluene strip out the fats

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11
Q

What happens when adipocytes are stained with geyemsa and toluadine blue in a frozen section ?

A

Nucleus displaced to periphery of each adipocyte

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12
Q

Give an example of multilocular adipocytes

A
  • Brown adipocytes which gives rise to brown fat
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13
Q

Describe the structure of brown adipocytes

A
  • Very few of these in the adult

* Multiple small lipid droplets, with the nucleus, cytoplasm and organelles all squeezed to the centre of the cell

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14
Q

Describe the function of brown adipocytes

A

Provides insulation and energy reserve

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15
Q

Give a summarised comparison and contrast of white and brown adipose tissue

A

White:

  • Single lipid droplet
  • Normal number of mitochondria (mitochondria gives cells it’s colour)
  • Single peripheral nucleus
  • In adults, lipid breakdown is slow and heat only generated after shivering reflex

Brown:

  • Multiple lipid droplets
  • Increased number of mitochondria makes it brown
  • Single central nucleus
  • In neonates and young children, lipid breakdown is accelerated, oxidative phosphorylation is uncoupled to generate heat (as they don’t have well-developed muscles so don’t have a shiver reflex to generate heat)
  • Calories generated can double
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16
Q

What are adipose cells generated from?

A

Adipose cells generated from immature fibroblasts or mesenchymal stem cells

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17
Q

Label this image (White fat under electron microscope)

A
  • Individual cells
  • Collagen fibres
  • Nuclei
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18
Q

What are the main fibres that are found in connective tissue?

A

collagen(s) and reticulin

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19
Q

What is collagen?

A

Collagen (cola is Greek for glue) is the commonest protein in our body and may constitute between 1⁄4 and 1⁄3 of our whole-body protein content; with the ground substance it constitutes the extracellular matrix

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20
Q

Name the 4 types of collagen you need to know in body logistics

A

Type 1,2,3,4

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21
Q

Describe collagen Type 1

A

The most widely distributed type (90% of all collagen). Fibrils aggregate into fibres and fibre bundles (e.g. in tendons, capsules of organs and skin dermis)

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22
Q

Describe collagen type 2

A

Fibrils do not form fibres (present in hyaline and elastic cartilage)

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23
Q

Describe collagen Type 3

A

Fibrils form fibres around muscle and nerve cells and within lymphatic tissues and lymphatic organs (e.g. spleen) and in tendons. It is called reticulin

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24
Q

Describe collagen type 4

A

Unique form present basement membrane (considered of epithelial tissues)

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25
Q

What is extracellular matrix?

A

A term used to describe a complex extracellular structural network that consists of ground substance and fibres

26
Q

Name and describe the 3 types of fibres in connective tissue

A
  • Collagen – Flexible with high tensile strength
  • *Reticular/reticulin – Provide a supporting framework/sponge
  • Elastin – Allows tissues to recoil after stretch or distension
27
Q

Which of the 3 fibres in connective tissue is not present in areolar tissue?

A

Reticular/Recticulin

28
Q

Label this connective tissue

A
29
Q

Give 3 summary points about the location of loose connective tissue and what the inactive tissue does in these areas

A
  • Located beneath epithelia (to facilitate diffusion)
  • Associated with epithelium of glands
  • Located around small blood vessels
  • All of the above are sites where pathogens, such as bacteria that have breached an epithelial surface, can be challenged and destroyed by the cells of the immune system
  • During these reactions, loose connective tissue can undergo considerable swelling because it has the facility to expand and then return to its original size
30
Q

Label irregular dense connective tissue

A
31
Q

Where is irregular dense connective tissue found?

A
  • In the dermis and it runs in different ways
32
Q

What does irregular dense connective tissue allow?

A
  • Allows the skin to thus resist forces in multiple directions to prevent tearing (because the IRCT runs in different directions)
33
Q

Why does irregular dense connective tissue prevent tearing of skin ?

A

The elastic fibres allow a degree of stretch and a restoration to the original shape after the skin is bent or folded

34
Q

Label this H and E diagram of irregular dense connective tissue

A
35
Q

Why is irregular dense connective tissue dense?

A

Because there’s very little ground substance in there

36
Q

Label this diagram of dense irregular connective tissue when we are staining for fibres

A
37
Q

Name 3 Clinical diseases associated with connective tissue

A
  • Scurvy - Vitamin C deficiency
  • Marfan’s syndrome - mutation of fibrillin 1 gene
  • Osteogenesis imperfect - mutation in col1A or col2A gene
38
Q

Describe how collagen fibrils are produced

A

Fibroblasts secrete procollagen that is converted to collagen molecules outside the cell.
The collagen molecules are then aggregated to form the final collagen fibrils

In some tissues, fibrils group together to form collagen fibres that provides strength to the tissue, e.g. bones, tendons and ligaments, and some types of fascia

39
Q

What is vitamin C required for?

A

• Vitamin C is required for the intracellular production of procollagen, where it hydroxylates proline and lysine
This helps form procollagen that is packaged, released and modified into collagen outside of the cell

40
Q

What happens without vitamin C?

A

Without vitamin C, collagen formation is disrupted, causing a wide variety of problems throughout the body

41
Q

What does vitamin C deficiency lead to?

A

Vitamin C deficiency leads to scurvy, a condition that includes poor wound healing and impaired bone formation

42
Q

What are the signs and symptoms of scurvy?

A
  • Gum disease and tooth loss
  • Bruising of the skin and hair loss
  • Bleeding
  • Poor wound healing
  • Weakness and fatigue
  • Impaired bone development in the young
43
Q

If you look at some tissue where collagen may be found, under a microscope, label and describe what you may see

A

The thin collagen fibrils aggregate in some areas to form thicker collagen fibres

44
Q

What is Marfan’s syndrome?

A

Autosomal dominant disorder in which expression of the fibrillin 1 gene is affected such that elastic tissue is abnormal

45
Q

What are the signs and symptoms of Marfan’s syndrome?

A
  • Sufferers are abnormally tall
  • exhibit arachnodactyly (very long fingers, thumbs, toes)
  • Have frequent joint dislocation
  • can be at risk of catastrophic aortic rupture (90% mortality rate - aortic aneurysm)
  • Wingspan is usually greater than height
46
Q

What is elastin the primary component of?

A

Elastin fibres

47
Q

What is elastin surrounded by?

A

Microfibrils called fibrin

48
Q

Where is elastin found?

A

• It occurs in most connective tissues but to widely varying degrees

  • Amongst the sites at which elastic fibres have an important role are:
  • dermis
  • artery walls
  • lungs
  • sites bearing elastic cartilage
49
Q

What is an indication that something is wrong with elastin fibres?

A

When desmosine and isodesmosine are found in urine

50
Q

Which molecules are only found in elastin fibres?

A

Desmosine and isodesmosine

51
Q

Label this diagram, showing where elastin is

A
52
Q

Label this TEM of an elastin fibre

A
  • Collagen fibrils (C) lie beside the elastin fibre in this section.
  • This elastin fibre (E) has an amorphous appearance and a low electron density.
  • Fibrillin microfibrils (see black arrows) are more electron dense. They lie at
    the periphery and within the elastin fibre.
53
Q

Label this small elastic artery and what stain has been used for it?

A
54
Q

What is seen in this image of an aortic wall?

A
55
Q

Describe what is found in this image of the tunica media of the aorta

A
56
Q

What are we born with?

A
  • All the elastin that you will ever have in your life so when you lose elastin, you lose elasticity
57
Q

Why is elastin important in the lungs?

A

Because when you exhale, it’s the elastin fibres that force the air out of or lungs

58
Q

How do elastin fibre look in theOsteogenesis imperfecta lung under a microscope

A

See image - black stained lines

59
Q

What is Osteogenesis imperfecta?

A

• “Brittle bone disease”

• Encompasses a number of different genetic aetiologies (most
are autosomal dominant)

• Mild to severe disease

60
Q

What causes oesteogenesis imperfect?

A

• Due to mutated collagen fibres that do not ‘knit together’ or not enough collagen produced or both

61
Q

What symptoms does osteogenesis imperfect cause?

A
  • Results in:
  • Weakened bones (fractures are common)
  • Short stature (depends on type)
  • Presence of blue sclera
  • Hearing loss
  • Hypermobility (loose joints) and flat or arched feet
  • Poor teeth development