Connective tissue

• Connective tissue is a type of animal tissue that is made up of cells, fibers and a gel-like substance
• Connective Tissue


  • It supports, protects, and gives structure to other tissues and organs in the body.
  • It also stores fat, helps move nutrients and other substances between tissues and organs, and helps repair damaged tissue.
• Connective Tissue


  It connects body parts
• Connective Tissue

  • is the most abundant and widely distributed of the tissue type
• Components of Connective Tissue

  • Cells
  • Protein fibers
  • Ground substance
• Migrant or Wandering Cells


  Cells that are found in connective tissue, but are not fixed in place
• Migrant or wandering cells usually refer to blood leukocytes (which are not fixed and organized in solid tissue) in particular mononuclear phagocytes
• How Connective Tissues are classified


  • Loose connective tissue
  • Dense connective tissue
  • Specialized connective tissue
• Loose connective tissue


  A type of connective tissue proper that holds and binds organs together, and is characterized by its loose, multidirectional weave of extracellular fibers and cells loosely separated in the rich extracellular matrix
• Loose Connective Tissue

  • It is the most common type of connective tissue in humans and other vertebrates
  • It holds or binds the biological organs together
  • It binds the epithelial tissue to the adjacent tissues
  • It surrounds the blood vessels and nerves
  • It serves as the major site of fluid and gas exchange between blood and adjacent tissues
• Loose Connective Tissue

  • Areolar connective tissue
  • Reticular connective tissue
• Dense connective tissue

  • Also called dense fibrous tissue, due to relative abundance of the collagen fiber
  • A type of connective tissue with fibers as its main matrix element
  • Fibers are mainly composed of type I collagen
• Specialized connective tissue

  • Encompasses a number of different tissues with specialized cells and unique ground substances
  • Some are solid and strong, while others are fluid and flexible
• Specialized connective tissue

  • Adipose, cartilage, bone, blood, and lymph
• Adipose connective tissue


  Adipose tissue, or fatty tissue, is a connective tissue consisting mainly of fat cells (adipose cells, or adipocytes), specialized to synthesize and contain large globules of fat, within a structural network of fibres