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Y1 Fundamentals of Life Science > Structure and Function of Loose and Dense Connective Tissues > Flashcards

Structure and Function of Loose and Dense Connective Tissues Flashcards

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1
Q

What is connective tissue?

A

Tissue of mesodermal origin which provides structural and metabolic support for other tissues and organs throughout the body

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2
Q

What is loose connective tissue? Where is it found and what is its function?

A
  • Surrounds blood vessels and underlies the basement membrane of epithelia
  • Highly hydrated, it is the site for metabolic and gaseous exchange
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3
Q

What is dense connective tissue? Where is it found and what is its function?

A
  • Provides tough physical support and protection, such as in ligaments, tendons and the dermis of the skin
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4
Q

What are the three basic components of connective tissue?

A
  • Fibres
  • Ground substance (together termed the extracellular matrix
  • Cells
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5
Q

What are the two classes of fibres?

A
  • Collagen
  • Elastin
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6
Q

What are the characteristics of collagen fibres?

A
  • Flexible
  • High tensile strength
  • Break if stretched over 3% of original length
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7
Q

What are the characteristics of elastin fibres?

A
  • Provide connective tissue with ability to stretch and recoil back to its original shape
  • The more elastin content in the matrix of a tissue the more elastic the tissue is
  • e.g. cartilage (high elastin content) is more elastic whilst ligaments and tendons (low elastin content) less elastic
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8
Q

Where is the ground substance found?

A

Component of connective tissue occupying space between fibres and cells

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9
Q

What is the ground substance composed of?

A
  • Clear, viscous substance that is slippery due to being highly hydrated
  • Proteoglycans - highly hydrophilic molecules that trap water within the matrix
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10
Q

What type of cell is found in dense and loose connective tissue?

A
  • Only one type of cell which produces fibre and ground substance in dense connective tissue
  • In both the cells are called fibroblasts
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11
Q

What is bone? What is its function?

A
  • Specialised, mineralised connective tissue
  • Provides strength and protection to organs
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12
Q

What is the function of strong, fibrous tissue?

A

Provide protection and tensile strength

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13
Q

What is the function of elastic connective tissue?

A

Provides flexibility and recoil in in structures

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14
Q

What is the function of fat/adipose tissue?

A

Provides cushioning and involved in energy storage and metabolism

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15
Q

What is the function of blood as a connective tissue?

A

Specialised function in immune defence

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16
Q

What are basic connective tissues?

A
  • Loose and dense connective tissue
  • Non-specialised connective tissue
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17
Q

What are the three main types of fibres?

A
  • Elastin
  • Collagen
  • Reticular fibres
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18
Q

What is embedded in the ground substance in the extracellular matrix?

A

Fibres

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19
Q

What is the ground substance?

A

Clear, viscous, gel-like substance that fills the space between the cells and fibres

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20
Q

What does the ground substance contain?

A
  • Glycosaminoglycans
  • Proteoglycans
  • Water
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21
Q

What do the properties of connective tissue depend on?

A

The balance between cells and extracellular matrix within tissues

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22
Q

What do tissues involved in mechanical strength contain a lot of? What are examples of these?

A
  • Extracellular matrix fibres
  • Ligaments, tendons and bones
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23
Q

What is the role of fibroblasts?

A

Produce and maintain the extracellular matrix

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24
Q

What structure do fibroblasts have?

A
  • Spindle-like cell shape
  • ‘Cigar-shaped’ nucleus
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25
Q

What forms do fibroblasts come in? What are thei functions?

A
  • Inactive fibrocyte
  • Activated myofibroblasts (involved in wound healing and fibrosis, and can become chronically activated in chronic wounds)
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26
Q

What are adipocytes?

A

Fat cells which can be white or brown fat cells

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27
Q

How are white adipocytes viewed as in microscopy?

A
  • Has a big hole-like structure
  • Formed in the middle of the cell when the lipid filled centre is washed away in processing
  • Cytoplasm is pushed to the periphery of the cell along with the nucleus
  • ‘Signet ring’ appearance
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28
Q

What are macrophages?

A
  • Role in phagocytosis
  • Engulf a wide range of foreign materials such as bacteria, dust particles, dead cells
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29
Q

What are macrophages derived from?

A

Monocytes

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30
Q

What are other cell types seen in specialised connective tissue?

A

Chondrocytes (cartilage), osteoblasts (bone) and odontoblast (teeth)

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31
Q

What is wandering connective tissue?

A
  • These cells migrate into the connective when needed.
  • Tend to be immune cells
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32
Q

What is the structure and function of a plasma cell?

A
  • Stereotypical oval ‘clock face’ nucleus
  • Actively involved in producing antibodies
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33
Q

What are eosinophils?

A
  • Eosin stains a lot of granules within the cells
  • Two-lobed nucleus
  • Involved in inflammatory reactions
  • Eosin granules show up as red on a microscope
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34
Q

What are neurtophils?

A
  • Multi-lobed nucleus
  • Role in phagocytosis
35
Q

What are lymphocytes?

A
  • Rounded nucleus similar to plasma cells
  • Plasma cells are mature lymphocytes
  • Smaller cytoplasm
  • Involved in antibody production
  • Specialised ones involved in protection against viruses
36
Q

What are mast cells?

A
  • Basophilic granules
  • Granules show up as dark purple on a microscope
  • Involved in the inflammatory response
37
Q

What substances do mast cells produce?

A
  • Histamine
  • Heparin
  • Bioactive substances which mediate inflammation
38
Q

What term is used to describe ground substance?

A
  • Amorphous
  • Doesn’t have a clear shape, instead fills the space between cells and fibres
39
Q

What colour are carbohydrates and collagen fibres stained in the ground substance when using eosin stain?

A
  • Carbohydrates are blue
  • Collagen fibres are pink
40
Q

What is the main structure of ground substance?

A
  • Hyaluronic acid backbone which contains glycoproteins and complex carbohydrates known as glycosaminoglycans (GAG)
41
Q

What are the characteristics of GAGs?

A
  • Complex carbohydrates
  • Negative side chains
  • Highly hydrophobic and this allows them to trap water within the matrix
42
Q

What is the benefit of high water retention in ground substance?

A
  • Provides the volume to the connective tissue
  • provides space and allows it to be soft and penetrable to allow other structures like vessels to pass through
43
Q

How is elastin viewed when stained? What stains can we use?

A
  • Seens as wiggly lines in the aorta
  • Can use basic H&E stain or eosin
  • Stained black when using elastic van gieson stain e.g. in the skin, arteries, lungs, bladder, ears etc
44
Q

What is elastin formed of?

A
  • Soluble precursor tropoelastin
  • Tropoelastin is secreted from fibroblasts, and elastic fibres are assembled onto a scaffold of microfibrils, using the glycoprotein fibrillin
45
Q

What structures can elastin form?

A
  • Fibres
  • Fenestrated sheets called elastic lamina (seen in major arteries)
46
Q

What is the main fibre in the extracellular matrix?

A

Collagen

47
Q

How many types of collagen are there?

A
  • 25
  • Differ based upon morphology
48
Q

What is the structure of collagen?

A
  • Secreted by fibroblasts as procollagen
  • Forms tropocollagen which has a triple helix structure
  • This can form fibrils which form collagen fibres
  • Thicker and unbranched compared to elastin
49
Q

What is needed for collagen formation? How can this be affected?

A
  • Many genes
  • Several diseases where the production of collagen is altered
50
Q

How is collagen viewed when stained?

A
  • Pink with basic H&E staining
  • Blue with Masson’s trichrome
51
Q

Where is collagen type 1 found?

A

Bone, dentine, skin, tendons and ligaments

52
Q

Where is collagen type 2 found?

A

Mainly found in cartilage

53
Q

What is type 3 collagen?

A

Reticular fibres

54
Q

What is type 4 collagen?

A

Found within the basement membrane

55
Q

What are reticulate fibres?

A
  • Form mesh-like frameworks which are delicate and thin
  • Surround organs, glands and blood vessels
56
Q

What is the function of the basement membrane?

A
  • Support to the overlying epithelium
  • Can act as a filter allowing only certain molecules to pass, often small molecules to pass
57
Q

What stain is used for the basement membrane?

A

PAS stain not basic H&E

58
Q

How do we classify different types of connective tissue?

A
  • Density of tissues: loose or dense
  • Arrangement of fibres: regular vs irregular (dense CT)
59
Q

How does loose connective tissue look under a microscope?

A
60
Q

What is the structural arrangement of loose connective tissue?

A
  • Fibres are loosely and randomly arranged
  • Lots of ground substance
  • Many cells present
61
Q

What other term is used to describe loose connective tissue?

A

Areolar connective tissue

62
Q

What is the function of loose connective tisse?

A
  • Bind structures together
  • Allows for diffusion to occur due to the loose arrangement of fibres and ground substance
  • Allows nerves and blood vessels to pass freely through the connective tissue
63
Q

What are examples of loose connective tissue?

A
  • Dental pulp
  • Lamina propria
64
Q

What is lamina propria?

A

Thin layer of loose connective tissue which underlie epithelial tissues which are exposed to the external environment e.g. digestive, reproductive and respiratory tract

65
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of loose connective tissue?

A

+ Good for diffusion of nutrients and waste products
- Extra space and ground substance environment means that many microbes breed here meaning many immune cells are present here

66
Q

What is the structure of dense irregular connective tissue? How does this link to function?

A
  • Fewer cells and ground substance
  • More extracellular matrix fibres which are randomly arranged, making it strong and able to withstand pressure from several directions
67
Q

What is an example of dense irregular CT?

A

Dermis (skin)

68
Q

How does dense irregular CT look under a microscope?

A

Strongly stained

69
Q

What is the structure of dense regular CT? How does this link to function?

A
  • Fewer cells and ground substance
  • Lots of extracellular matrix fibres
  • Fibres are arranged parallel to each other giving high tensile strength and resists forces in one direction
70
Q

What are examples of dense regular CT?

A

Tendons and ligaments

71
Q

How does dense regular connective tissue look under a microscope?

A

Strongly stained

72
Q

What is another type of connective tissue found in the skin?

A

Hypodermis (found just below the dermis)

73
Q

What is the hypodermis?

A

White adipose tissue (most common in humans)

74
Q

What does the hypodermis (adipose tissue) look like under a microscope?

A
  • Signet ring of an adipocyte
  • Appearance is uniocular
  • Single large lipid droplet within the cells which looks empty due to the lipid being washed away in processing
75
Q

What stain can be used to view the lipid present in adipose tissue?

A

Oil red O or Sudan red

76
Q

What is the function of white adipose tissue?

A
  • Specialised for storing fat as energy
  • Structural role - fill spaces and act as padding or shock absorbing
  • Metabolic role
  • Thermal insulator under the skin
  • Stores and mobilises triglycerides
77
Q

What is brown adipose tissue? What is its function?

A
  • Multiocular
  • Several lipid deposits within a cell
  • Really only found in newborns
  • Sometimes present around the kidney or adrenal glands
  • Rich in mitochondria and capillaries
  • Main role is thermogenesis
78
Q

How does brown adipose tissue look under a microscope?

A
79
Q

What does mucosa refer to?

A

The epithelium and the lamina propria combined

80
Q

What genetic condition is caused by mutation in collagen type 1?

A

Brittle bones which can be malformed in osteogenesis imperfecta
- Causes fragile, extra elastic skin and hypermobility of joints
- Issues with blood vessels and eyes

81
Q

What genetic condition is caused by mutation in collagen type 2?

A

Collagen defects and joint abnormalities like chondrodysplasia

82
Q

What collagens types can cause Ehler-Danlos syndrome?

A

Types I, III, V

83
Q

What causes Marfan Syndrome? What is the effect?

A
  • Mutations in the fibrillin gene, affecting the formation of the glycoprotein scaffold used for elastin assembly
  • Affects tissues rich in elastic fibres like the aorta
  • Can lead to aortic aneurysms and rupture due to weakening, and skeletal defects

Y1 Fundamentals of Life Science (25 decks)

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