CONNECTIVE TISSUE

CONNECTIVE TISSUE
• responsible for providing structural support
for the tissues and organs of the body.
• This mechanical function is important in
maintaining the form of the body, organs
and tissues.
• The tissue derives its name from its
function in connecting or binding cells and
tissues.
Components of Connective Tissue
• Connective tissue is composed of:
– cells
– extracellular matrix.
 Properties of Connective Tissues
• are very heterogeneous in structure and
function
• all have the three main structural
components (cells, fibers and ground
substance)
• The diverse composition and amount of
the components in the various connective
tissues can be correlated with the specific
functional roles of the tissue
 Functions of Connective Tissue

• Structural support
• Metabolic functions
• Blood components and blood vessels
• Defensive functions
 Origin of Connective Tissue Cells

• All connective tissue cells are derived from

mesenchymal cells
• Mesenchyme cells are found in embryos and are for the
most part derived from the middle germ layer of the
embryo (mesoderm).
• Several of the connective tissues of the head region are
derived from the neural crest (ectodermal origin)
• Endothelial cells lining blood vessels are derived from
mesenchyme and therefore are classified as connective
tissue rather than epithelium
• Epithelium, which can develop from all three embryonic
germ layers, never develops from mesenchymal cells
 Mesenchymal cells
• are typically elongated cells, with relatively little
cytoplasm
• have regular, oval nuclei with prominent nuclei. The
nuclei are often eccentric in position.
• have several thin cytoplasmic processes. The spaces
between the cell processes are filled in ground
substance.
• are only found in embryos, however some mesenchyme-
like cells persist in adult connective tissue
• mesenchyme-like cells retain their capacity to
differentiate into other connective tissue cells in
response to injury, e.g the pericytes (perivascular cells)
of blood capillaries
 CONNECTIVE TISSUE CELLS

• Fibroblasts
• Macrophages
• Mast cells
• Plasma cells
• Leukocytes
 The extracellular material
• plays a major role in the functioning of the
tissue
• is the dominant component of the tissue
• is a special feature that distinguishes
connective tissue from the other tissues of
the body.
Components of Extracellular Matrix

• protein fibers (collagen fibers, reticular

fibers, elastic fibers)
• amorphous ground substance
• tissue fluid (not preserved in histological
preparations)
 CONNECTIVE TISSUE FIBERS
• Connective tissue fibers are composed of
structural proteins. The three main types
of fibers are:
– collagen fibers
– reticular fibers
– elastic fibers
 Collagen fibers
• Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body (up to
30% dry weight)
• consist of closely packed orderly fibrils and when seen in
bundles (as in tendons, aponeuroses) appear white
• In histological preparations after regular staining they are
acidophilic (pink staining with eosin)
• Collagen fibers are flexible, but very inelastic with
extremely high tensile strength
• main amino acids of collagen are: glycine (33.5%),
proline (12%), hydroxyproline (10%)
• There are more than 12 different types of collagen,
though the most common types are Types I to V
 Reticular fibers
• are very thin (diameters between 0.5 - 2m m)
and are not visible in normal histological
preparations after regular staining (H & E)
• can be visualized and stained black after
impregnation with silver salts. This affinity for
silver is called argyrophilia
• are also stainedwith the PAS reaction due to
the high content of glycoproteins associated with
the fibers (6-12% hexoses as opposed to 1% in
collagen fibers)
• It is now recognized that reticular fibers are a
special form of collagen (Type III)
 Reticular fibers
• form fine-meshed netaround cells and cell
groups in diverse organs.
• are abundant in lymphatorgans (lymph
nodes, spleen), smooth muscle (in the
sheath surrounding each myocyte), in
endoneurium (connective tissue
surrounding peripheral nerve fibers), and
supporting epithelial cells of several
glands (liver, endocrine glands).
 Elastic fibers
• as the name suggests, are highly elastic and stretch in
response to tension
• are formed from the protein elastin. The amino acid
composition of elastin, similar to collagen, is rich in
glycine and proline, but in addition has two unusual
amino acids, desmosine and isodesmosine
• also have a high content of valine
• are very prominent in elastic tissues such as the elastic
ligaments
• When present in high concentration, the elastin imparts a
yellow color to the tissue. The elastic laminae of
arterial blood vessel walls are composed of a non-
fibrillar form of elastin.
• Elastin can be stained in histological preparations using
orcein
Classification of Connective Tissue

The two main categories of connective

tissue are:
– Loose Connective Tissue
– Dense Connective Tissue
 Types of Collagen
Collagen type Main sites Special features

TypeI Bones, tendons, organ Most abundant,

capsules, dentin Typical collagen fibers
(64nm banding)
TypeII Hyaline cartilage Very thin fibrils
Elastic cartilage

Type III Reticular fibers Often associated with Type I

Type IV Basal lamina associated Amorphous (non-fibrous)

with epithelial and
endothelial cells
Type V Basal lamina associated Amorphous (non-fibrous)
with muscle
 Synthesis of Collagen
• Collagen is synthesized by a wide number of cell
types including:
– Fibroblasts
– Osteoblasts
– Chondroblasts
– Odontoblasts
– reticular cells
– epithelial cells
– endothelial cells
– smooth muscle cells
– Schwann cells
 Loose connective tissue (areolar tissue)

• is the more common type

• fills the spaces between muscle fibers
• surrounds blood and lymph vessels
• is present in the serosal lining membranes
(of the peritoneal, pleural and cardiac
cavities), in the papillary layer of the
dermis and in the lamina propria of the
intestinal and respiratory tracts etc.
 Dense connective tissue
• is divided into two sub-categories:
– dense irregular connective tissue
– dense regular connective tissue
• Dense connective tissue contains relatively few
cells with much greater numbers of collagen
fibers
• Dense irregular connective tissue has bundles of
collagen fibers that appear to be fairly randomly
orientated (as in the dermis)
• Dense regular connective tissue has closely-
packed densely-arranged fiber bundles with
clear orientation (such as in tendons) and
relatively few cells.
 Tendons
• are the most common type of dense
regular connective tissue.
• connect skeletal muscles to bone
• Owing to the dominance of the collagen
fibers, the tendons have a white color
(stains acidophilic in regular staining).
• The collagen bundles in tendons are
arranged in bundles (primary bundles).
Several primary bundles, each surrounded
by loose connective tissue, are grouped
into larger bundles (secondary bundles).
 Tendons
• The loose connective tissue surrounding the
primary and secondary bundles contains blood
vessels and nerves. The whole tendon is
surrounded by a denser connective tissue.
• Each primary bundle has orderly-arranged rows
of fibrocytes, when seen in longitudinal section.
These fibrocytes have relatively little cytoplasm.
• Between the rows of fibrocytes, the collagen
bundles are closely packed and arranged also in
a longitudinal direction.
 Ligaments
• are a special type of dense regular connective
tissue that connects bones to bones
• have a similar structural arrangement to
tendons, but differ in their yellow color, which is
due to the abundance of elastic fibers in the
tissue
• the elastic fibers are stained a dark brown-red
with orcein.
• Elastic fibers provide the ligament with
remarkable elasticity (in contrast to tendons).
 Mucous tissue
• found in the umbilical cord (Wharton's
jelly). It is a loose connective tissue
composed of fibroblasts with several long
cytoplasmic processes
• The intercellular space is filled with a jelly-
like amorphous ground substance, rich in
hyaluronic acid and fibers.
 Mesenchymal Cells Loose Connective Tissue Loose Connective Tissue Adipose Tissue-White

Adipose Tissue-Brown Tendon-TS Tendon-LS Ligamentum nuchae-TS

Ligamentum nuchae-LS Mast Cells Mast Cells Mast Cells

Mucous Connective Tissue Adipose Cell Elastic Fibers - Mesentery