BIOD 151/BIOD 151 Lab 8 / BIOD 151 Lab 8 Exam Study Guide/Latest Updated Guide

BIOD 151 Lab 8 Exam Study Guide

● We are going to be talking about connective tissue
● Connective tissue
○ Most abundant and widely distributed tissue in body
○ It is the most variable when we look at it under microscope
■ Most histologically variable when compared to epithelial tissue
● Category of connective tissue includes
○ Fibrous connective tissue
■ Also known as connective tissue proper
○ There are also Three specialized classes within connective tissue and these include:
■ Bone
■ Cartilage
■ Blood
● Mesenchyme is a form of embryonic connective tissue- we will talk about this later
● General characteristics of connective tissue (specifically the connective tissue proper)
○ Structure
■ Widely scattered cells
● As a result connective tissue has a larger amount of matrix and smaller cellular content
■ Matrix of connective tissue proper is a clear gel-like substance
● There will be exceptions when we talk about the specialized forms of connective tissue
○ It is vascular
■ Epithelial tissue is avascular while connective tissue is vascular
■ Has a direct blood supply
○ Is innervated by nerves
■ Both epithelial and connective tissue have a direct nerve supply
○ Does not have a free surface
■ Epithelial tissue does have a free surface
○ Functions
■ 1. Provides support and protection
● Ex: bone provides support to body as well as protection (skull protects
brain, ribcage and sternum protect heart and lungs)
■ 2. Facilitates movement
● Ex: skeleton forms the framework for movement, the muscle that cover
the bone will produce the movement but without the framework of
skeleton, we would not be able to move the body
● Cartilage also facilitates movement, we have cartilage on bones surfaces
so will allow for ease of movement at joint surfaces
■ 3. Provides some immune defense
● Some cells found in connective tissue function in phagocytosis

, (process to attack foreign invaders in body) ■
4. Storage
● Bones will store calcium and phosphorus for us
○ Our Fat is our body's main reservoir for energy- it is the stored
form of glucose that we can call up on later for energy
■ 5. Binding of organs
● Ex: tendons and ligaments fall in category of connective tissue
○ Tendons attach muscle to bone, and ligaments will attach bone
to bone
○ Fat also will help bind organs
■ Ex: fat around eyes will help to hold eyeball in place, fat
around kidney will also help to hold it in place
● They help bind organs in place
■ 6. Transportation
● Blood transports gases, nutrients, and wastes thru body
● We have 3 primary germ layers
○ Ectoderm eventually develops into epidermis
○ Mesoderm eventually develops into connective tissue
○ endoderm
● Mesenchyme develops into connective tissue
○ Mesnechyme
■ Gives rise hemocytoblasts which will eventually develop into mature red blood
cell
■ Also gives rise to fibroblasts
● Fibroblasts: immature, undifferentiated cells that will further develop
into: fibrocytes→ fibers→ connective tissue proper
● Fibroblasts will also differentiate into chondroblasts
(immature form of a cartilage cell)--> chondrocytes(mature cartilage
cell)→ cartilage
● Fibroblasts will also differentiate into osteoblasts (immature bone cell)---
> osteocytes (mature bone cell)---> bone cell
● Fibrous connective tissue proper
○ Also known as fibrous tissue
○ Cellular components found in this type of connective tissue
■ Fibroblasts
● Most common type of cell found in fibrous connective tissue
● Seen under microscope as a large, flat branching type cell
● Will produce fibers and ground substance that forms matrix
■ Macrophage
● Phagocytic cells
● Large cells
● Travel thru tissue and eat dead material or foreign invaders that may
cause injury to the tissue