Department of Natural Sciences University of St.

La Salle

1.LOOSE CT esophagus, vagina, urinary bladder  Encountered in almost every microscopic section of the body, it is the packing and anchoring material; binds other tissues and organs together; allows a degree of mobility between these parts due to its flexibility.  Found beneath the tunica propria of organ cavities  Fibers are loosely arranged in a meshwork as in the loose areolar or fibro-elastic types

 Collagenous and elastic fibers are both present forming a loose, continuous and branching meshwork; reticular fibers few and inconspicuous.  Fibroblasts, macrophages, mast cells are relatively very few and may include any or all of the different varieties.  Ground substance is fluid like, containing many spaces capable of becoming enlarged and distended with fluid.  These spaces or areola is a synonym for loose CT.  Richly supplied with blood vessels, lymphatics, nerves.

2.DENSE CT- has compactly or closely packed fibers; subdivided into: Dense regular: a.Dense fibrous (white or collagenous) CT- tendons  Found wherever firmness and resistance are needed in the body, such as in tendons, flat sheets, cornea, fasciae and aponeurosis.  The fibers are oriented in a consistent pattern to meet specific mechanical requirements.  The predominant elements are oriented collagen bundles with few, small blood vessels.  Ground substance is scanty in amount.  Blood vessels and nerves are found in CT sheaths.

 In tendons, each bundle is composed of a large number of fibrils covered by a small amount of loose CT, termed the endotendineum.  Generally, several primary bundles are grouped together into secondary fascicles bounded by a coarser type of CT, the peritendineum.  The tendon is composed of a number of fascicles ensheathed by thick CT called the epitendineum.  Few, scattered fibroblasts are found between the layers of collagen.  Cell bodies appear rodshaped, but rectangular, triangular or trapezoid in surface view due to pressure from the bundles of fibers.  In tendons, these are called tendon cells.

Dense irregular- skin  Found typically in the dermis of the skin, capsules of many organs, tendon sheaths and nerves, in parts of the urinary tract.  Essentially the same as the loose type except that the fibers are thicker, woven into a compact feltwork accompanied by extensive elastic networks.  Due to the compact arrangement of its fibers, this tissue is stronger and offers more resistance than the loose variety.  Cells are located among the fibers. Macrophages are easily identified by vital dyes; undifferentiated mesenchymal cells are found along the small vessels.

CONNECTIVE TISSUE WITH SPECIAL PROPERTIES

 Form variants of loose CT. One type maybe transformed into another depending on changes in local conditions so that this classification should not be taken strictly. 1.RETICULAR CT- stroma of liver, bone marrow, spleen, lymph nodes, thymus  Composed of type III collagen; these fibers are very fine, arranged in slender bundles which anastomose forming a delicate lattice network.  The stellate reticular cells are have long cytoplasmic extensions that join other cells; mesenchyme cells may become actively phagocytic or remain fixed as primitive reticular cells  Has a large population of resident macrophages adhering to fibers; a few plasma cells, RBC and WBC are present.

2. EMBRYONIC CT- uterus  A young form of CT occurring in fetal life; during regeneration of adult destroyed CT areas (uterine mucosa); dental pulp and in certain tumors.  In the uterus, the tissue is found in the tunica propria (corium) immediately beneath the columnar epithelium lining of the uterus.  Very cellular, mostly fibroblasts of the spindle and stellate variety, or the undifferentiated mesenchymal type.  Some blood cells and phagocytes are present. CT fibers are obscured by coagulated ground substance.  This CT is highly vascular, blood vessels are numerous, fully formed, containing non-nucleated RBC.

3. MUCOUS CT- Whartons jelly of umbilical cord  Transient type of tissue that appears in the development and differentiation of CT  Found in the embryo, especially under the skin. In adult animals, it is limited to the dermis and hypodermis.  Fibroblasts, a few macrophages and lymphoid wandering cells are present; fibers are thin, collagenous, increasing in number as the fetus ages.  Very abundant, soft, jelly-like homogenous ground substance.  Residue contains granules and fibrillar precipitates when fixed and exhibiting the staining reactions of mucin.  It stains metachromatically with toluidine blue.

 In the umbilical cord, a portion of the periphery of the specimen far from the 3 big umbilical vessels will show a mass of mucous CT called the Whartons jelly which is devoid of blood vessels.  The specimen is surrounded by the amnion which is lined by a single layer of cuboidal cells.  The CT fibers appear indistinct showing the coagulated gelatinous ground substance.

Mucous tissue of an embryo showing fibroblasts immersed in a very loose extracellular matrix composed mainly of molecules of the ground substances.

4.ADIPOSE- skin, tongue  Stores fat, provide insulation against heat loss, and mechanical support in certain regions of the body  Plays an important role in maintaining a stable supply of fuel by accumulating lipid in periods of excess food intake and releasing fatty acids in periods of fasting.  Widely distributed as fat depots (e.g. panniculus adiposus of the belly and buttocks in subcutaneous tissue, yellow bone marrow, mesentery and omenta) and may exhibit regional differences in amount as influenced by certain factors like age and sex.  In the nervous system, eyelids, lungs and penis, adipose tissue is absent.

 In the skin or tongue, adipose CT can be recognized readily by the presence of rounded clear spaces.  The clear spaces represent the adipose ghost cells, the fat content of which has been washed away during the preparation of the slide.  These are closely spaced, separated by the thin fibrous strands of both collagenous and elastic fibers, pushed aside by expanding fat cells during development to form the fibrous septa separating fat lobules.  Within these septa are located other types of CT cells and blood vessels.

Two types are present:  Unilocular yellow or white adipose tissue comprise the bulk of body fat  Multilocular brown variety are abundant in hibernating species and newborn human infants.

 Unilocular adipocytes can generate benign tumors (lipomas), or malignant liposarcomas. Hibernomas are relatively rare.  In the multilocular type, mitochondria have a transmembrane protein called thermogenin which permits proton-motive backflow without passing the ATP-synthetase system.  This releases heat that warms the body. It is notable that in obese individuals, thermogenin is reduced in quantity.  Obesity in adults may result from dietary excess, resulting to an excessive accumulation of fat in unilocular cells that become larger than usual (hypertrophic obesity); or from an increase in the number of adipocytes (hyperplastic obesity).  The latter typically occur in overnourished infants.

 Hormones that affect adipose tissues: 1.Insulin- increases uptake of glucose by adipocytes and synthesis of triglycerides from carbohydrates 2.Epinephrine, ACTH, glucagon, growth hormone, thyroxine- promote varying degrees of lipolysis of stored lipids and release of fatty acids. ACTH results to localized hypertophy of adipocytes in lower cervical region causing the buffalo hump condition. 3.Estrogens- influence pattern of distribution of adipose tissue in females  Neural (sympathetic nerves of ANS) or humoral mechanisms mobilize fats when the body is subjected to fasting periods or severe cold.  These factors stimulate adenylate cyclase, activating the enzyme triglyceride lipase, which breaks down triglyceride droplets.

 In general, adipocytes synthesize and store triglycerides.  In the fed state, an insulin:glucagon ratio stimulates adipocytes to produce the following reactions: a. Secrete lipoprotein lipase (LPL) into the capillaries of white adipose tissue. LPL catalyzes the digestion of triglycerides (via VLDL and chylomicrons) into FA and glycerol. The former enter the adipocyte to be stored; the latter travels to the liver. b.Uptake and metabolize glucose and use it for energy and as a source of the glycerol moiety of the stored triglycerides.

 In the fasted state, a decreased insulin: glucagon ratio and epinephrine stimulate adipocytes to begin lipolysis due to increased levels of cAMP which activate hormone-sensitive lipase. This catalyzes the cleavage of FA from triglycerides.  The FA are used for ATP synthesis, and converted in the liver to ketone bodies. The glycerol is used as a source of carbon for gluconeogenesis.  Adipocytes secrete a hormone called leptin that has an anorexic action . The action of the LEP gene is mediated through satiety centers in the hypothalamus where their receptors are found.

Hormones and Appetite

Produced by adipose (fat) tissue, leptin suppresses appetite as its level increases. When body fat decreases, leptin levels fall, and appetite increases.
Ghrelin

Secreted by the stomach wall, ghrelin is one of the signals that triggers feelings of hunger as mealtimes approach. In dieters who lose weight, ghrelin levels increase, which may be one reason its so hard to stay on a diet. A rise in blood sugar level after a meal stimulates the pancreas to secrete insulin. In addition to its other functions, insulin suppresses appetite by acting on the brain.

The hormone PYY, secreted by the small intestine after meals, acts as an appetite suppressant that counters the appetite stimulant ghrelin.

Leptin PYY

Insulin