Bringing Us All Together! Connective Tissue Bringing Us All Together!

Introduction Understanding our next type of tissue is a challenge because it is composed of many different things For us to grasp the aspects of connective tissue, we have to imagine it much like a good bowl of gumbo

Introduction I am not normally one for soup… A good bowl of seafood gumbo is one of my favorite meals It is created from many different ingredients coming together to make a thick and rich stew that has one defined flavor A good bowl of gumbo is a defined meal made of many different parts

Connective Tissue Connective tissues vary wildly in appearance and function, however they all contain three basic things Specialized cells Extracellular protein fibers A fluid (ground substance) These three things can be found throughout the body performing different functions

Connective Tissue When we talk about the combination of extracellular fibers and ground substance together, it is referred to as the matrix The matrix makes up the large part of most connective tissues This is different than epithelium where cells make up the majority of the tissue

Types of Connective Tissue There are three different types of connective tissue that are in the body These three different types of connective tissue can be found in different parts of the body They all have wildly different functions and properties

Types of Connective Tissue Connective tissue proper contains tissues with many different cells and extracellular fibers in a syrupy ground substance This is a very broad category that includes two main categories Loose connective tissue has few supporting fibers Dense connective tissue has many supporting fibers

Types of Connective Tissue Loose connective tissue contains tissues such as adipose tissue Adipose tissue is commonly referred to as fat It is commonly used as a long term storage mechanism It has very loose groupings of fibers to create a very loosely bound substance

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Types of Connective Tissue Dense connective tissue has a larger number of fibers that make up the matrix Tendons and ligaments are examples of dense connective tissue They are tough parts of the body that have a strong and connection with other parts of the body

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Types of Connective Tissue Fluid connective tissues have a distinctive population of cells and dissolved proteins within a watery ground substance This type of connective tissue is circulated around the body There are only two main types Blood tissue Lymph tissue

Types of Connective Tissue Supporting connective tissues are tissues that have fewer cells and more supporting fibers Supporting connective tissues can either help protect parts of the body or support parts of the body The two main types are Cartilage Bone

Connective Tissue Proper Connective tissue proper can be compared to retired/elderly people from New Jersey Other than being important members of our community… what do they do in the winter? Their migration is similar to connective tissue proper Some retired/elderly people travel to their winter home down south While many of them stay in New Jersey to be near their families

Connective Tissue Proper Permanent residents are cells that do not migrate around the body They are locked in location and often deal with energy storage and local maintenance Migratory cells move around the body These cells will respond to issues in different tissues around the body

Connective Tissue Proper There are several different types of permanent residents Fibroblasts numerous in the body and are the only cells always present in connective tissue proper They secrete the proteins that and carbohydrates that create the ground substance and the extracellular protein fibers

Connective Tissue Proper Fibrocytes are responsible for maintaining the extracellular fibers of connective tissue proper Adipocytes (fat cells) are composed of a large droplet of fat and all other organelles pushed off to the side They are used for the long term storage of energy Mast cells are located near blood vessels and release histamine

Connective Tissue Proper Mesenchymal cells are local stem cells that can create fibroblasts, macrophages or other connective tissue cells Melanocytes store the pigment melanin, which helps protect against radiation

Connective Tissue Proper Lymphocytes migrate throughout the body defending the body against disease Macrophages are large amoeboid cells that engulf damaged cells or pathogens that are in the tissues Macro – Large Phage – Eat or Consume

Dense Connective Tissue In dense regular connective tissue the fibers are parallel to each other and are allied to the forces being applied to each other Tendons connect skeletal muscles to bone Ligaments connect bones together or stabilize organs

Dense Connective Tissue Dense irregular connective tissue has an interwoven network of fibers Often will strengthen and support an area that receives forces from all directions This is found in the skin Leather is an excellent example

Fluid Connective Tissue The fluid connective tissues are two varied categories that travel around the body The main goal for these two tissues is to travel through the different tissues of the body and try to access different parts of the body to do their job The jobs that they do are different, but very important to the well being of the organism

Fluid Connective Tissue Blood is a tissue that is composed of all three elements of connective tissue Plasma is a watery matrix that is made of protein and fluid Inside of the plasma there are a large collection of cells and fragments of cells called formed units

Fluid Connective Tissue Red blood cells are cells that carry oxygen around the body with the help of hemoglobin Red blood cells make up around 25% of the cells in your body White blood cells come in three major groups and act defenders of infection and disease Platelets are cell fragments that are involved in clotting responce

Fluid Connective Tissue Lymph is a type of fluid that forms as fluid enters lymphatic vessels Cells from the immune system monitor the lymph for signs of infection, differences in nutrient levels and detects levels of toxins If the lymph is deemed “clean” it is returned to the blood stream

Supporting Connective Tissues Supporting connective tissues are tissues that provide a strong framework for the body They ensure that the entire body is able to support it’s own weight, protect itself from harm and have an anchoring structure These are often related to the skeletal system

Supporting Connective Tissues Cartilage is a tough supportive connective tissue that provides a variety of functions throughout the body It can be used to connect two different bones It can also be used to protect parts of the body Finally it can provide support and structure to the framework of the body

Supporting Connective Tissues Cartilage has a matrix of a thick gel that contains dissolved proteins The specialized cells are called chondrocytes Depending on the type of chondrocytes that are in the cartilage, the tissue will take on different properties This accounts for the differences that you see in different types of cartilage

Supporting Connective Tissues There are three main types of cartilage Hyaline cartilage is a tough and somewhat flexible cartilage that is found in the sternum, nose and cushions the knee Elastic cartilage contains many elastic fibers and allows it to bend in the ear and epiglottis Fibrocartilage has little ground substance and can protect against bone to bone contact in the spine and the pelvis

Osseous Tissue The second connective tissue is osseous tissue Osseous tissue (bone) is a connective tissue with very small amounts of ground substance and contains a large amount of calcium salts The rest of osseous tissue is composed of collagen fibers

Osseous Tissue Bone’s matrix is composed of over 60% calcium salts These salts have a hard but brittle quality that provides a base substance for strong and flexible collagen fibers The most major is calcium phosphate The other major calcium salt is calcium carbonate

Osseous Tissue Since there is a hard and supportive substance that is locked together with a strong flexible substance, bone is a very supportive and tough tissue It makes a flexible substance that is resistant to shattering It gives bone the properties of reinforced concrete