Connective tissue
| Connective tissue | |
|---|---|
Section of epididymis. Connective tissue (blue) is seen supporting the epithelium (purple). | |
| Identifiers | |
| MeSH | D003238 |
| FMA | 96404 |
| Anatomical terminology | |
Connective tissue is biological tissue that is found in between other tissues in the body.[1] Most types of connective tissue consists of three main components: elastic and collagen fibers, ground substance, and cells.[1]
It is one of the four primary types of animal tissue along with epithelial tissue, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue.[2] It develops mostly from the mesenchyme, derived from the mesoderm, the middle embryonic germ layer.[1]
The three meninges, membranes that envelop the brain and spinal cord, are composed of connective tissue. Blood and lymph are classed as specialized fluid connective tissues that do not contain fiber. All are immersed in the body water. The cells of connective tissue include fibroblasts, adipocytes, macrophages, mast cells and leukocytes.
The term "connective tissue" (in German, Bindegewebe) was introduced in 1830 by Johannes Peter Müller. The tissue was already recognized as a distinct class in the 18th century.[3][4]
- ^ a b c Biga, Lindsay M.; Dawson, Sierra; Harwell, Amy; Hopkins, Robin; Kaufmann, Joel; LeMaster, Mike; Matern, Philip; Morrison-Graham, Katie; Quick, Devon (2019), "4.3 Connective Tissue Supports and Protects", Anatomy & Physiology, OpenStax/Oregon State University, retrieved 16 April 2021
- ^ Biga, Lindsay M.; Dawson, Sierra; Harwell, Amy (26 September 2019). "4.1 Types of Tissues". Retrieved 30 July 2022.
- ^ Mathews, M. B. (1975). Connective Tissue, Macromolecular Structure Evolution. Springer-Verlag, Berlin and New York. link.
- ^ Aterman, K. (1981). "Connective tissue: An eclectic historical review with particular reference to the liver". The Histochemical Journal. 13 (3): 341–396. doi:10.1007/BF01005055. PMID 7019165. S2CID 22765625.