Answer:
There are five types of
connective tissues:
(i) Areolar connective tissue: It
is a loose and cellular connective tissue. It joins skin to muscles, fills
spaces inside organs, and is found around muscles, blood vessels and nerves.
Functions:
(a) It acts as a supporting and
packing tissue between organs lying in the body cavity.
(b) It helps in repair of
tissues after an injury.
(c) It also helps in combating
foreign toxins.
(d) It fixes skin to underlying
muscles.
Dense regular connective
tissue: It is a fibrous connective tissue. It characterized by ordered and
densely packed collection of fibres and cells. Dense regular connective tissue
is the principal component of tendons and ligaments.
Functions:
(a) Tendons: Tendons are
cord-like, strong, inelastic structures that join skeletal muscles to bones.
(b) Ligament: They are an
elastic structure which connects bones to bones.
(iii) Adipose tissue: Adipose
tissue is basically an aggregation of fat cells. The adipose tissue is abundant
below the skin, between the internal organs and in the yellow bone marrow.
Functions:
(a) It serves as a fat
reservoir.
(b) It provides shape to the
limbs and the body.
(c) It keeps visceral organs in
position. It forms shock-absorbing cushions around kidneys and eyeballs.
(d) It acts as an insulator.
Being a poor conductor of heat, it reduces heat loss from body, i.e., it
regulates body temperature.
(iv) Skeletal tissue: The
skeletal or supporting tissue includes bone and cartilage which form the
endoskeleton of vertebrate body.
(a) Cartilage: The
cartilage is a specialized connective tissue which is compact and less
vascular. Cartilage can be found in ear pinna, nose tip, epiglottis,
intervertebral discs, end of long bones, lower ends of ribs and rings of
trachea.
(b) Bone: Bone is very
strong and non-flexible tissue. Like cartilage, bone is a specialized
connective tissue.
Functions:
(a) Cartilage provides support
and flexibility to the body parts. It smoothens the surface at joints.
(b) Bone provides shape and
skeletal support to body.
(c) Bone protects vital body
organs such as brain, lungs, etc.
(d) Bone anchors the muscles.
(v) Fluid connective tissue:
Fluid connective tissue links the different parts of the body and maintains
continuity in the body. It includes blood and lymph.
(a) Blood: In this tissue
cells move in a fluid or liquid matrix or medium called blood plasma. Blood
occurs in blood vessels called arteries, veins, and capillaries which are
connected together to form the circulatory system.
(b) Lymph: Lymph is a
colourless fluid that has filtered out of the blood capillaries. Functions:
(a) Blood transports nutrients,
hormones and vitamins to the tissues and transports excretory products from the
tissues to the liver and kidney.
(b) Lymph transports the
nutrients (oxygen, glucose) that may have filtered out of the blood capillaries
back into the heart to be recirculated in the body.
(c) Lymph brings CO2 and
nitrogenous wastes from tissues to the blood.
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