What is a Dense Connective Tissue?
Dense connective tissues are tissues in which fibers and fibroblasts are compactly packed together. Based on their orientation of fibers, they are divided into two types – dense regular and dense irregular tissues.
Dense regular tissues are tissues in which collagen fibers are arranged neatly in rows between many parallel bundles of fibers. An example of this type of connective tissue is tendons, which attach skeletal muscles to the bones, and ligaments which attach one bone to another.
Dense irregular tissues are tissues in which fibroblasts and collagen are arranged in an irregular pattern. This type of tissue is present in the skin.
Dense Connective Tissue:
A. Dense regular B. Dense irregular
Specialized connective tissue: Cartilage, bone, and blood are different types of specialized connective tissue. Each one is explained in detail below.
What is Cartilage? The intracellular material is solid and pliable thus resisting compression. The cells present in this tissue are packed within small cavities that secrete intracellular material. Thus cartilage is the present tip of the nose, adjacent bones of the vertebral column, outer ear joints, limbs, and hands in adult humans.
What are Bones? Bones have a hard ground substance made up of rich calcium salts and collagen fibers. The bone cells and osteocytes are present in cavities called lacunae. The main function of the bone is to protect and support the softer tissues of the body, thus providing a structural framework of the entire body. Other functions of bones are to bear the weight of the body; the bone marrow of some bones is the major site of the production of new blood cells.
What is Blood? Blood is a fluid that circulates in the entire body. Blood has a fluid connective tissue that consists of plasma, red blood cells, different types of white blood cells, and platelets.
A. Cartilage B. Bones C. Blood
