Connective Tissue

Connective Tissue is a type of tissue that supports, binds, or separates other tissues or organs, typically having relatively few cells embedded in an amorphous matrix, often with collagen or other fibers, and including cartilaginous, fatty, and elastic tissues.

Overview

Connective tissue is one of the four basic types of animal tissue, along with epithelial tissue, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue. It is found in between other tissues everywhere in the body, including the nervous system. In the central nervous system, the three outer membranes (meninges) that envelop the brain and spinal cord are composed of connective tissue.

Types of Connective Tissue

There are many types of connective tissue, including:

• Loose connective tissue
• Dense connective tissue
• Cartilage
• Bone
• Blood
• Adipose tissue
• Hematopoietic tissue

Functions

Connective tissue has a wide variety of functions that depend on the types of cells and the different classes of fibers involved. Loose and dense irregular connective tissue, formed mainly by fibroblasts and collagen fibers, have an important role in providing a medium for oxygen and nutrients to diffuse from capillaries to cells, and carbon dioxide and waste substances to diffuse from cells back into circulation.

Diseases

Connective tissue diseases are disorders featuring abnormalities involving the collagen and elastin. Connective tissue diseases that are strictly inheritable include Marfan syndrome and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Other types of connective tissue diseases include rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus.

See Also

• Tissue (biology)
• Epithelial tissue
• Muscle tissue
• Nervous tissue

Connective Tissue Resources
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