Connective Tissue

1. Embryonic Connective Tissue

a. Mesenchyme
FUNCTION – forms almost all other connective tissues
LOCATION – under the skin and along developing bones of embryo, some in adult
connective tissue, especially along blood vessels
2. Ordinary Loose connective tissue
a. Areolar connective tissue
FUNCTION – Strength, elasticity, and support
LOCATION – Everywhere! Subcutaneous layer of skin, papillary region of dermis,
lamina propria of mucous membranes, around blood vessels, nerves, and body
organs
3. Modified Loose connective Tissue
a. Mucous Connective Tissue
FUNCTION – Support
LOCATION – Fetal umbilical cord

b. Reticular connective tissue

FUNCTION – Forms stroma of organs; binds smooth muscle tissue cells; filters and
removes worn out blood cells in spleen and microbes in lymph node
LOCATION – Stroma of liver, spleen, lymph nodes; red bone marrow; reticular lamina of
basement membrane; around blood vessels and muscles
c. Adipose tissue
FUNCTION – Reduces heat loss through skin; energy reserve; supports and protects
organs; in newborns, it generates heat to maintain proper body temp
LOCATION – Wherever areolar connective tissues are: subcutaneous layer of skin,
around heart and kidneys, yellow bone marrow, padding around joints, behind eyeball

d. Pigment Tissue
 e. Lamina Propria

4. Dense connective tissues

a. Dense regular connective tissue
FUNCTION – Provides strong attachment between various structures; tissue structures
withstands tension along long axis of fibers
LOCATION – Forms tendons, most ligaments and aposneuroses
b. Dense irregular connective tissue
FUNCTION – Provides tensile (pulling) strength in many directions
LOCATION - fasciae, deeper region of dermis, fibrous pericardium of heart, periosteum,
joint capsules, membrane capsules around various organs (kidney, liver, lymph nodes,
testes); heart valves

c. Elastic connective tissue

FUNCTION – Allows stretching of various organs; is strong and can recoil to
original shape after being stretched
LOCATION – lung tissue, walls of elastic arteries, trachea, bronchial tubes, true
vocal chords, suspensory ligaments of penis, some ligaments of vertebrae.
Components

1. Cells
a. Mesenchymal cells
- Fusiform or stellate hard to distinguish from fibroblast

b. Fibroblast
- Cell that produces collagen and other fibers
c. Macrophage
- White blood cell that engulfs and digests

d. Adipocytes
- Cells for storing energy as fat
e. Mast Cells
- White blood cell for inflammatory and allergic reactions

f. Monocytes
- Bean-shaped nucleus, grayish-blue cytoplasm
g. Lymphocytes
- Nucleus almost occupies entire cell

h. Plasma Cells
- “clock-face”
i. Eosinophils
- Bilobed nucleus

j. Neutrophils
- Multilobed nucleus
k. Basophils

l. Pigment Cell
2. Connective tissue fibers
a. Collagen
- Structural protein that holds body together

b. Elastic fibers
- Bundles of proteins for structural and mechanical elasticity and resilience
 c. Reticular fibers
- forms framework of liver, adipose tissue, bone marrow, spleen, and basement
membrane

3. Ground Substances
- make up the extracellular matrix
- supports and binds cells together
- provides a medium for the exchange of materials
- stores water, and actively influences cell
- functions
- Substances found in the ground substance
- include:
1. water and polysaccharides such as:
a. hyaluronic acid
b. chondroitin sulfate
c. dermatan sulfate
d. keratan sulfate (glycosaminoglycans)
2. proteoglycans and adhesion proteins.