𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑻𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒆 − This tissue maintains the form of the body as well as its organs and provides internal

support. e.g., bone, ligament, tendon, cartilage, blood, adipose tissue, areolar tissue.

Connective tissues consist of three main components - fibers (elastic and collagenous fibers), ground substance and
cells.

Elastic fibers are bundles of proteins (elastin). Collagen consists of amino acids bound in a triple helix.

Ground substance is the substance in the extracellular space that contains all components of the extracellular matrix
(ECM) except for fibrous materials.

Fig connective tissue = cells + ground tissue + fibres

Connective tissues is broadly categorized into two types, viz., connective tissue proper and special connective tissue.

Connective tissue proper is broadly categorized into two types, viz., loose connective tissue and dense connective
tissue.
Loose connective tissue has less fibres in comparison to the ground substance and dense connective tissue has more
fibres in comparison to the ground substance.

Two important types of loose connective tissue are areolar tissue and adipose tissue.

Areolar tissue is found between the skin and muscles, around blood vessels and nerves and in the bone marrow. It is
strong enough to bind different tissue types together, yet soft enough to provide flexibility and cushioning.

Fig aereolar tissue

Adipose tissue is fat storing tissue found below the skin and between internal organs.

Dense connective tissue is broadly categorized into two types, viz., dense regular connective tissue and dense
irregular connective tissue.

In dense regular connective tissue fibers arranged in an orderly parallel fashion, giving it tensile strength in one
direction. e.g., ligaments and tendons.
Ligaments are very elastic and have considerable strength, whereas, tendons have great strength and limited
flexibility.

In dense irregular connective tissue fibers arranged in all directions, giving it tensile strength in all direction. This
type of connective tissue is found mostly in the deep layer of the dermis. It makes the skin resistant to tearing by
stretching forces from different directions.

Special connective tissue included only three - bones, cartilage and blood.

Bone cells are embedded in a hard matrix that is composed of calcium and phosphorus compounds.

Bone matrix is a composite material consisting of organic and inorganic components. The organic
matrix makes up ∼20% of the wet weight of bone and is comprised primarily of collagen.
Endosteum: A membrane lining the inner surface of the bony wall
The periosteum is a membrane that covers the outer surface of all bones
Cartilage smoothens bone surfaces at joints and is also present in the ear, nose, trachea and larynx. Cartilage has
widely spaced cells. The solid matrix of cartilage is composed of proteins and sugars.

Blood has a liquid matrix called plasma, in which red blood corpuscles (RBCs), white blood corpuscles (WBCs) and
platelets are suspended. The plasma contains proteins, salts and hormones.

But, not all criteria include blood as connective tissue because they lack the fiber component.
𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝑻𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒆 − It is composed of cells having the ability to contract and relax in order to produce movement
of the body parts.

In other words, we call this tissue muscle.

Muscular tissue is composed of muscle cells. These cells have structures called myofibril and these myofibrils have
two types of proteins called myocin and actin arranged in parallel fashion. When signal from the nervous system
comes to this tissue, the proteins come closer and hence, the muscle cells contract.

Muscular tissue is broadly categorized into three types, viz., skeletal muscle, smooth muscle and cardiac muscle.
🔴 Skeletal muscle -

→ The cells of skeletal muscles are 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔, 𝑐𝑦𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙, 𝑢𝑛𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑 and 𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒 (having many nuclei).

→ These muscles are mostly attached to bones and help in body movement. So they are called 𝑠𝑘𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠.

→ These are 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠.

→ Under the microscope, these muscles show alternate light and dark bands (𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠) when stained
appropriately. They are also called 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠.

🔴 Smooth muscle -

→ Smooth muscles are 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠.

→ The cells are long with 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠 (spindle-shaped) and 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒 (having a single nucleus).

→ They are also called 𝑢𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠.

→ These muscles are found in 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑐ℎ, 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒, 𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑠, 𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠, 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑠 etc.

🔴 Cardiac muscle -

→ Cardiac muscles are 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠

→ These muscles show rhythmic contraction and relaxation throughout life.

→ These muscle cells are 𝑐𝑦𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙, 𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑, 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒 and 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑.