Connective Tissue (CT) Found everywhere in the body Protect, support and bind structures together Fill spaces, store fat, produce blood cells Have extracellular matrix = non living substance found outside of cells

Matrix Produced by CT cells Vary from fluid to rock hard substances Helps this tissue to bear weight and withstand stretching Contains various amounts of fibers: - 1) collagen (white and strong)

2) Elastic fibers (yellow and stretchy) 3) Reticular (fine fibers)

Loose CT (Areolar) Delicate, cob-webby Packing tissue and glue Surrounds organs and found directly beneath skin

Dense CT (Fibrous) Lots of white fibers (white in color) Found in ligaments (connect bones to bones) Found in tendons (connect muscles to bones) Poor blood supply causing slow healing Whites of our eyes

Adipose CT (fat) Cells contain large vacuole with droplet of fat (cells become swollen and nucleus pushed to one side) Protects by padding organs Serves as an insulator Is a reserve supply of energy

Osseous CT (bone) Rocklike hardness from matrix plus calcium salts that separate bone cells Support, protect, framework

Cartilage CT Tough, yet flexible 3 types: Hyaline-glassy, blue-white appearance; most common, found at ends of bones, tip of nose, tracheal rings, & connect ribs to breastbone

Cartilage continued Fibrocartilage – highly compressible & forms disks between backbone Elastic – outer ear and part of larynx

Vascular CT (blood) Has living cells in a fluid matrix called plasma Cells are red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets (clot)

Muscle Tissue Specialized to contract or shorten to move things 3 types of muscle tissue

(1) Skeletal Muscle Attached to bones Contract voluntarily Long, cylindrical, multinucleate cells Have striations or a banded appearance

(2) Cardiac Muscle Found only in the heart Contract and pump heart Contract involuntarily Has striations but are uninucleate Short, branching cells that fit together at thick junctions called intercalated disks

(3) Smooth Muscle Make up organs like stomach, bladder No striations (look smooth) Uninucleate and are spindle-shaped Contract involuntary

Nervous Tissue Make up the brain, spinal cord and nerves Cells are called neurons Conduct electrical impulses from one part of the body to another Cytoplasm is drawn out into long extensions to speed up impulses