Connective

tissue Dr. Hira Rafique

Senior Lecturer
Riphah International University, Sahiwal
 Connective
tissues
• The connective tissues of the body develop from a tissue known as
mesenchyme which is originally formed from the mesoderm germ
layer.
• Connective tissues differ from epithelia by the presence of abundant
intercellular (extracellular) material known as ECM.
• The matrix is composed of fibers and ground substance.
• However, some authors apply the term matrix to the ground
substance only. So, the component of connective tissues is: - Cells
and Matrix (Fibers and Ground substance).
• Connective tissues are widely distributed in the body. Their amount in
any particular organ varies greatly. For example, skin consists of
primarily of connective tissue, while the brain contains very little
connective tissue
 Components of connective
tissue tissues differ widely but still made up of
• Connective
two fundamental components
 Cells and the ECM
 ECM contains Fibers and Ground substance

• The composition and structure of extracellular matrix

determine function and characteristic of connective
tissue
 Cells of connective
tissues
• There are specialized cells in connective tissue which
maintain extracellular matrix.
form and

• They may be Immature cell with name ending in - blast. These

cells can reproduce and form the matrix. May be Mature cell
names end in -cyte. These cells have a reduced ability to
divide and maintain matrix. May be for remodeling of matrix ,
names end in clasts.

•The cells of connective tissue can be grouped into:

 Fixed cells/Resident Cells - appear in tissues in stable
numbers, abundant and driven from mesenchymal cells
 Wandering cells/ Migrant Cells - found in tissues
only in response to infection or injury
Fibroblasts:
large, flat cells with branching processes present in all the general
connective tissues
 usually are the most numerous.
Fibroblasts migrate through the connective tissues, secreting the
fibers and certain components of the ground substance of the
extracellular matrix.
myofiborblasts are abundantly found in areas of wound healing
and the main function of these is wound Contraction
Inactive Fibroblasts: Small Spindle Shaped, Fibroblasts, Less RER
adn cytoplasm stains acidophillic
Active Fibroblsts: Large, Flat cells with branches, Fibrocytes, More
RER, Cytoplasm stains basophilic
Function
Secret Protein collagen and Elastin
Myofibroblast has role in wound healing, it causes wound
contraction and Wound Closure
 Adipocytes - Fats cells, store triglycerides. Insulate and cushion

• may be present in groups of adipose tissues

• derived from mesenchymal cells

• may be unilocular or multilocular

• aggregation of unilocular adipose tissues forms white adipose tissue

which is major energy store

• Agregation of multilocular adipose tissues form brown adipose tissues

(good fat), which produces body heat.

• store lipid in fed state and release them into blood during fasting state.

Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Cant be easily identified, derived from embryionic

mesenchyme and they form Adipocytes and fibroblasts throughout life

Macrophages
 develop from monocytes
 have an irregular shape with short branching projections and are capable of
engulfing bacteria and cellular debris by phagocytosis.
 Inactive Macrophages: Fusiform, Stellate cells and these lie close to collagen
fbers, Neucleus is small and Round
 Active Macrophages : Large spherical cell of 10-35micrometer in diameter,
neucleus is kidney shaed and ecentric, they have cytoplasmic extensios and
infoldings for phagocytic function and Amoeboid movements.
 Function : Phagocytosis, Defensive Action during immune respone against
bacteria
Plasma cells
 small cells that develop from B lymphocyte.
 Plasma cells secrete antibodies, proteins that attack or neutralize foreign
substances in the body.
 Although they are found in many places in the body, most plasma cells
reside in connective tissues, especially in the gastrointestinal and respiratory
tracts.
 They are also abundant in the salivary glands, lymph nodes, spleen,
and red bone marrow.
Mast cells
abundant alongside the blood vessels that supply connective
tissue.
produce histamine, which dilates small blood vessels as part of
the inflammatory response.
leukocytes and erythrocytes - migrate from blood in to connective
tissues through capillary walls. they may enter as neutrophills,
eiosinohills, lymohocytes adn monocytes

SUPPORTING CONNETIVE TISSUE

Chondrocytes and osteocytes: cartilage and bone forming cells
Extracellular Matrix of connective
tissue GROUND SUBSTANCE

• component of a connective tissue between the cells and

fibers.

• The ground substance may be viscous (as in blood),

semisolid (as in cartilage), or solid (as in bone).

• supports cells, binds them together, stores water, and

provides a medium for exchange of substances between
the blood and cells.

• plays an active role in how tissues develop, migrate,

proliferate, and change shape.
• It primarily consists of protein and carbohydrate molecules and
variable amounts of water.

• The protein and carbohydrates are mainly present in form of

proteoglycans and glycoproteins.

 Proteoglycan = Protein core + glycosaminglycan

 Glycoprotein= Protein + oligosaccharide

• Also present in the ground substance are adhesion proteins ,

which are responsible for linking components of the ground
substance to one another and to the surfaces of cells. E.g.
fibronectin which bind collagen fiber and ground substance
together
 Protein fibers
Three types of protein fibers
1: Collagen fibers
• made up of collagen.

• Collagen fibers are tough and only slightly elastic.

• They often occur in bundles with the fibers parallel to one

another, which gives great tensile strength.

• Make different association in different tissues., as in cartilage

molecular arrangement allows it to draw more water as
compared to bone.

• Collagen is found in most connective tissues, esp.

bone, tendons, and ligaments.
2: Elastic fibers
• are composed of a protein called elastin and glycoprotein
framework called fibrilin.
• They are very stretchy and branch and join to form a
network.
• Can stretch upto 150 times its relaxed size
• They provide strength to tissues, but allows the tissue to be
flexible and stretchy. They are found in skin, blood vessels,
and lungs

3: Reticular fibers.
• Made up of collagen but are thinner as compared to
collagen fibers and are arranged in branching network (not
in parallel rows as are collagen fibers) .
• They form a spongelike framework , stroma, for such organs
as the spleen and lymph nodes
• Also present in blood vessels, nervous tissue, muscles
and adipose tissue where it provide support
Classification of connective
tissue
 Connective tissue proper

• Connective tissue proper includes those types of

connective tissues that exhibit a variable mixture of both
connective tissue cell types and extracellular protein
fibers suspended within a viscous ground substance.

• It generally has higher protein fiber content

• These connective tissue types differ with respect to their

numbers and types of cells and the relative properties and
proportions of their fibers and ground substance.

• Its main function is to bind cells and tissues into organ and
organ system.
 Supporting connective tissue

• The supporting connective tissue have a strong and durable

framework that protects and supports the soft body
tissues.
• The extracellular matrix in supporting connective tissue
contains many protein fibers and a ground substance that
ranges from semisolid to solid.
• Bones and cartilage are supporting connective tissue. The
cartilage has a semisolid extracellular matrix, while bone has a
solid extracellular matrix.

Fluid connective proper

• Fluid connective tissue contain cell and cell fragments,

dissolved protein fibers and watery ground substance.
Connective tissue
proper
 Loose connective
tissue
• Distributed throughout the body as a binding and packing material
• The protein fibers in loose connective tissue are loosely
arranged
rather than tightly packed together.
• Contains relatively fewer cells and protein fibers than dense
connective tissue but has more ground substance.
• The cells of loose connective tissue are predominantly fibroblasts,
with collagenous and elastic fibers dispersed throughout the ground
substance
• Occupies the spaces between and around organs.
• It binds the skin to the underlying muscles and is highly vascular,
providing nutrients to the skin. Loose connective tissue that binds
skin to underlying muscles is known as fascia .
• It also surrounds blood vessels and nerves, where it provides both
protection and nourishment
• The irregular arrangement of this tissue provides flexibility, yet
•There are three types of loose connective tissue:
 areolar connective tissue
 adipose connective tissue
 reticular connective tissue

Areolar connective tissue

• Areolar connective tissue is highly variable in appearance and the
least specialized connective tissue in the body .
• It has a loosely organized array of collagen and elastic fibers and an abundant
distribution of blood vessels.
• consists of
 fibers (collagen, elastic, reticular) arranged randomly
 several kinds of cells (fibroblasts, macrophages, plasma cells, adipocytes,
mast cells, and a few white blood cells)
 semifluid ground substance (hyaluronic acid, chondroitin
sulfate, dermatan sulfate, and keratan sulfate).
• The fluidity of ground substance and loose arrangement of
fibers facilitate tissue protection by accommodating the stress
in its loose structure.

• The elastic fibers ensure independent movement.

• Present everywhere in body including subcutaneous layer deep

to skin, superficial region of dermis of skin, mucous
membranes, around blood vessels, nerves, and body organs.

• Its functions are strength, elasticity, support.

Adipose connective tissue

• Made up of adipocytes that are specialized for storage of
triglycerides (fats) as a large, centrally located droplet.

• Cell fills up with a single, large triglyceride droplet, and

cytoplasm and nucleus are pushed to periphery of cell. With
weight gain, amount of adipose tissue increases.
• It has two types: White adipose tissue which is present in adults and has less
blood supply and Brown adipose tissue present in infants and have extensive
blood supply.

• Function: Reduces heat loss through skin, serves as an energy reserve,

supports and protects organs. In newborns, BAT generates heat to maintain
proper body temperature.

• Present throughout the body; abdominopelvic cavity, around kidney,

subcutaneous tissue.

Reticular connective tissue

• Reticular connective tissue contains a meshwork of reticular fibers, on which
fibroblast and leukocytes are suspended.

• Has very little ground substance.

• Mainly present in hematopoietic system; spleen, lymph nodes, bonemarrow

• Functions: Forms stroma of organs, filters and removes worn-out blood cells
in spleen and microbes in lymph nodes
 Dense connective
tissue
• Dense connective tissue consists of densely packed fibers with
relatively little space between the fibers.

• Has proportionately high protein fiber than ground substance.

• Also called collagenous connective tissue because of abundance of

collagen fibers.

• Further divided into three categories.

 Dense regular connective tissue
 Dense irregular connective tissue
 Elastic connective tissue.
 Dense regular connective tissue
• Has densely packed collagen fibers in the extracellular matrix that are
oriented predominantly in one direction which resist stretching and
give strength in direction of orientation

• Has silvery white appearance and sometimes called white

fibrous connective tissue.

• Dense regular connective tissue occurs where strong, flexible

support is needed

• Has few blood vessels which is reason behind its slow healing
properties.

• Make structures such as tendons, which connect muscles to bones ,

and most ligaments, which connect bones to bones
 Dense Irregular connective tissue
• Dense irregular connective tissue is characterized by large amounts of
densely packed collagenous fibers that extend in all directions and are
interwoven to provide tensile strength in any direction

• bundles of collagen fibers appear in clumps throughout the tissue, rather

than arranged in parallel as seen in dense regular

• The components of dense irregular c.t are same as that of dense regular c.t
they differ in arrangement. The multidirectional interwoven framework of
collagen fiber offer tensile strength in all directions

• found in the dermis of the skin and the submucosa of the GI tract.

• It also forms the fibrous capsules of organs and joints permits them to
withstand applied forces from any direction.
 Elastic connective tissue

• Elastic connective tissue is composed primarily of elastic fibers

and yellowish in color .

• They can be stretched to one and a half times their original lengths
and will snap back to their former size.

• Has sparse ground substance. The elastic fiber is packed in parallel

bundles (arrangement is more like dense regular connective tissue)

• Elastic connective tissue is found in the walls of large arteries, in

the vocal cords, and in the trachea and bronchial tubes of the lungs.
 Supporting connective
tissue CARTILAGE
• Cartilage is strong and resilient among different connective
tissue
types, and it provides flexible support
• Cartilage can endure considerably more stress than loose and dense
connective tissues.
• Made up of
 Chondrocytes
 Chondroitin sulfate + Proteoglycans
 Collagen fibers + elastin fibers
• The chondrocytes are the mature cartilage cells that occupy small
spaces in extracellular matrix called lacunae.
• The chondroitin sulfate with other substances of ground substance
gives it flexibility and resilience.
• The collagen fibers give it strength.
• It does not have nerve and blood supply. Because of inefficient blood
supply it heals slowly after trauma and injury.

• Cartilage is found in areas of the body that need support and must
withstand deformation, such as the tip of the nose or the external part
of the ear

• Most cartilage has a covering called perichondrium which is mainly

made up of dense irregular connective tissue but also has cellular
portion which contain chondroblasts.

• Cartilage makes most of the embryonic skeleton. It is gradually replaced by

bones during embryonic development and after birth. It persist in growth
plates of the bones and allows bone to increase in length.
• There are three types of cartilage:
 Hyaline cartilage.
 Fibrocartilage
 Elastic cartilage
HYALINE CARTILAGE
• named for its clear, glassy microscopic appearance, which contains usually
invisible fine collagen fibers
• Most abundant type of cartilage found in the body.

Structure
• Small collagen fibers are evenly dispersed in the matrix, making the matrix
appear transparent; the chondrocytes are found in lacunae, within the firm
but flexible matrix

Function
• Allows the growth of long bones
• provides rigidity with some flexibility in the trachea, bronchi, ribs, and
nose;
• forms smooth and flexible articulating surfaces;
• forms the embryonic skeleton

Location
• Growing long bones, cartilage rings of the respiratory system, costal cartilage
of ribs, nasal cartilages, articulating surface of bones, embryonic skeleton.
FIBROCARTILAGE
Structure
• Have collagen fibers similar to those in hyaline cartilage which are
arranged in thick bundles
• Lack perichondrium

Function
• flexible and capable of withstanding considerable pressure (strongest
of all cartilage)
• connects structures subjected to great pressure. Act as
shock
absorber

Location
• Intervertebral disks, symphysis pubis, articular disks (e.g., knee and
temporomandibular joints)
ELASTIC CARTILAGE

Structure
• Chrondrocytes embedded in extracellular matrix which contain elastic
fibers
• Perichondrium is present

Function
• Provides rigidity with even more flexibility than hyaline cartilage
• maintains shape of certain structures.

Location
• External ears, epiglottis, auditory tubes