Connective Tissue Lecture Notes
Important References
- Exercise 3: Connective Tissue
- Lab Manual: Page 27
- Textbook: Page 122
Overview of Tissues
Epithelial Tissue
- Locations: Covers and lines organs
- Characteristics: Avascular, innervated
- Functions: Protection, secretion, absorption
Connective Tissue
- Characteristics: Highly vascularized (except cartilage), innervated (except cartilage)
- Functions: Support, connection
- Exception: Cartilage (avascular and not innervated)
Comparison Between Epithelial and Connective Tissues
- Epithelial: Tightly packed cells, avascular, innervated
- Connective: Loosely packed cells with extracellular material, very vascular
- Cartilage: The exception in connective tissues, avascular and not innervated
Connective Tissue Composition
Cells
- Types: Transient and Fixed
- Transient Cells:
- Come and go as needed
- Important types: Macrophages, Plasma cells, Mast cells
- Fixed Cells:
- Present at all times
- Types include: Blast (build), Cytes (maintain), Clast (break down)
Key Prefixes
- Osteo: Bone
- Fibro: Fibers
- Chondro: Cartilage
Matrix
- Composed of fibers and ground substances
- Fibers: Collagen (strong, flexible), Elastic (stretch and recoil), Reticular (support)
- Ground Substance: Adhesive material, includes glycosaminoglycans (protein and sugar)
Types of Connective Tissues
Loose Connective Tissues
- Characteristics: Loosely intertwined fibers, visible cells
- Types:
- Areolar: Connects tissues, found everywhere
- Adipose: Fat storage
- Reticular: Supports hollow organs and filtering structures
Dense Connective Tissues
- Not covered in detail in this lecture.
Cartilage
- Avascular, not innervated, supportive
Bone
Blood
- Liquid ground substance (plasma)
Embryonic Development of Connective Tissues
- Mesoderm: Germ tissue source
- Mesenchyme: Gives rise to mature tissues (bone, blood, cartilage, etc.)
- Mucous Connective Tissue: Wharton's jelly, found in the umbilical cord
Learning Tips
- Focus on function suffixes:
-blast
, -cyte
, -clast
- For exam questions, pay attention to whether "germ" or "embryonic" terms are used
- Be familiar with cell and matrix identification in lab samples
Study Strategies
- Practice identifying cells and matrix components in tissue samples
- Understand the relationship between structure and function for each tissue type
- Review germ and embryonic tissue origins in development
This summary highlights the key points covered in the lecture on connective tissue, focusing on the types, characteristics, and functions of connective tissues, as well as their embryonic origins and cellular components.