Dense connective tissue
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Dense connective tissue, also called dense fibrous tissue, has collagen fibers as its main matrix element. It is mainly composed of collagent type I. Crowded between the collagen fibers are rows of fibroblasts, fiber-forming cells, that manufacture the fibers. Dense connective tissue forms strong, rope-like structures such as tendons and ligaments. Tendons attach skeletal muscles to bones; ligaments connect bones to bones at joints. Ligaments are more stretchy and contain more elastic fibers than tendons. Dense connective tissue also make up the lower layers of the skin (dermis), where it is arranged in sheets.
Types
It is often divided into "regular" and "irregular":
- Dense regular connective tissue provides strong connection between different tissues. The collagen fibers in dense regular connective tissue are bundled in a parallel fashion. Tendons, which connect muscle to bone, derive their strength from the regular, longitudinal arrangement of bundles of elastic fibers. Ligaments bind bone to bone and are similar in structure to tendons.
- Dense irregular connective tissue has fibers that are not arranged in parallel bundles as in dense regular connective tissue. This tissue comprises a large portion of the dermal layer of skin.
See also
External links
- Organology at UC Davis TermsCells&Tissues/connective/dense/dense1 - "Connective tissue, dense (LM, Low)"
- Histology at cytochemistry.net
- Overview at downstate.edu
Histology: connective tissue | |
|---|---|
| Classification | proper (loose/areolar, dense, adipose brown and white, reticular) embryonic (mucous, mesenchymal) specialized (cartilage, bone, blood) |
| Extracellular matrix | ground substance (tissue fluid) fibers (collagen, reticular fiber, elastic fibers) |
| Cells | resident (fibroblast, adipocyte, chondroblast, osteoblast), wandering cell |
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
