Connective Tissue

Dr. Ghaith Alabedi

Lecture one
2nd year
Connective Tissue
Tissue that connects, supports, binds, or separates
other tissues or organs, typically having relatively few
cells embedded in an amorphous matrix, often with
collagen or other fibres, and including cartilaginous,
fatty, and elastic tissues.
All connective tissue is derived from mesoderm, the
middle germ cell layer in the embryo.
 General composition of connective
tissues:
1. Cells
2.Fibers
3.Amorphous ground substance
Classification of connective tissue - according the
number of cells, fibers and amorphous ground
substance:
Connective tissue proper:
1. loose connective tissue
2. dense connective tissue
• regular
• irregular
Connective tissue with special properties:
A. elastic
B. reticular
C. adipose
D. embryonic – mesenchymal, mucous e- Blood
Supporting connective tissue(special):
A. cartilage
B. bone tissue
 Cells of Connective Tissue:

fixed: fibroblasts – fibrocytes; reticular, pigment,

fat cells (adipocytes).
free: macrophages, plasma cells, mast cells,
leucocytes
Fibers: there are three types: collagen, reticular,
elastic fibres.
Types of Cells Connective Tissue
1-Fixed connective tissue cells
1. Fibroblasts - active cells, synthesize fibers and AGS
– irregular shape, many short and sharp cytoplasmic
processes.
– light, oval nucleus, rich in euchromatin.
– prominent nucleolus.
– cytoplasm rich in- GER and GA, basophilic.
Fibroblast
2-Pericytes cells (like fibroblasts, located in small
blood vessels, close to endothelial cells)

3. Fibrocytes – spindle shaped cells, smaller like

fibroblasts, nucleus is elongated, smaller, more
basophilic, cytoplasm is poor in organelles,
acidophilic.
4. Reticular cells – star shaped cells with long
processes by which they are interconnected,
synthesize collagen type III.
5. Adipocytes (fat cells) - unilocular
- multilocular
Function: storage of energy - triglycerides (continuous
turnover) - adipose tissue: mechanical and thermal
protection.
Unilocular adipocytes: it is spherical cells, 50 – 150 μm in
size, in tissues are polyhedral cells, it has a fat vacuole
fills the cytoplasm, flat nucleus placed in the periphery.
Multilocular adipocytes
It is polygonal cells, smaller than unilocular, spherical
nucleus usually in the center of the cell in the cytoplasm
many fat vacuoles of different size, it has a lot of
mitochondria containing, cytochrome oxidases (brown
color), found newborns and hibernating animals, brown
adipose tissue basal lamina surrounds the cell.
6. Pigment cells – melanocytes
– Oval cell body, long cytoplasmic processes Granules with
melanin pigment – melanosomes.
– Epidermis of the skin Protection against UV – rays
Neuroectodermal origin
2-Free connective tissue cells
1. Macrophages - histiocytes (monocytomacrophage system)-
Kupffer cells in liver, microglia in CNS, osteoclasts in bone tissue,
Langerhans cells in epidermis. Oval cells with numerous folds
and fingerlike projections spherical or oval nucleus many
lysosomes. Function: phagocytosis, defense, immunological job.
2. Plasma cell: derived from B lymphocytes: large (20 μm) ovoid
cell basophilic cytoplasm – GER, GA eccentrically placed
spherical nucleus clock face arrangement of chromatin

Function: Synthesis of immunoglobulins – antibodies.

3. Mast cell:
Large spherical cell with spherical nucleus microvilli and folds on
the cell surface cytoplasm filled with large granules contain
heparin and histamine. Function: storage of chemical mediators
of the inflammatory response- paracrine secretion (heparin–
anticoagulant, histamine
– increases permeability of capillaries).
Fibers of connective tissue: Connective tissue fibers
are of three principal types:
– Collagen fibers
– Reticular fibers
– Elastic fibers
 Comparative of the different types of fibers of
connective tissue
Collagenous Fibers Elastic fibers
Thick Bundles of microfibrilsembedded in elastin
Composed of collagen Fibers branch
Great tensile strength Elastic
Abundant in dense CT
Constitute the vocal cords, airpassage
Hold structures together
Constitute the Tendons andligaments

Reticular fibers
It is very thin
Highly branched
Form supportive networks
Amorphous ground substance: viscous, transparent,
Contains: water, ions; GAG, PG, SGP.
Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) (linear polysaccharides)
Proteoglycans (PG): three dimensional structures
consisting of protein core and polysaccharides (GAG)
Structural glycoproteins (SGP): globular protein +
branched polysaccharides, fibronectin, laminin,
chondronectin, osteonectin.
Function: interaction of neighboring cells, adhesion of
cells to their substrate.
Connective tissue proper
Connective tissue proper fills the frame structure of
tissues and organs and forms a continuous structure
that carries blood vessels and nerves throughout the
body. The relative proportions of the basic
components –fibres, cells and extracellular matrix,
determine the functional characteristics of the tissue
as Loose areolar connective tissue and Dense
Connective tissue (Irregular or regular dense
Connective tissue).
Loose areolar connective tissue:
Loose areolar connective tissue is found as packing material
throughout the body and carries the blood vessels and nerves. It
contains many scattered cells of various types, blood and
lymphatic vessels, and a loose network of fine collagenous,
reticular and elastic fibres.
Found in: surrounding vessels and nerves, and is found in serous
membranes, the lamina propria of mucous membranes,
subcutaneous tissue and the superficial layer of the dermis
Dense Connective tissue
Composed principally of thick collagenous fibres, dense
connective tissue contains few cells. Fibrous elements
predominate, and the commonest cell is the fibrocyte. In dense
regular connective tissue, the fibres may be arranged in rows to
provide tensile strength in tendons and ligaments, and as sheets
in aponeuroses, while in dense irregular connective tissue the
fibres are arranged in different planes to allow stretching
without tearing of the surface membrane, as in the dermis and
the vagina.
Reticular connective tissue
Reticular connective tissue is produced by modified
fibroblasts called reticular cells. These produce
reticular fibers arranged in an interlaced network
(reticulum), similar to dense irregular connective
tissue. The difference between them is that the
reticular fibers are thinner, compose a more delicate
mesh, with reticular cells remaining bonded to the
fibers.
Reticular tissue supports the stroma of body organs,
especially lymphoid. Reticular meshes filter lymph
and provide a microenvironment for the passage and
attachment of white blood cells. Thus, it is present in
red bone marrow, lymph nodes and the spleen.
Reticular fiber
Collagen fiber
Reticular fibers
Thanks for your attention