Connective Tissue:
Connective tissue is the most abundant and widely distributed tissue
type found in the human body. The role of connective tissue is to
protect, support, and bind together parts of the body.
When considering the characteristics that make a tissue a connective
tissue, we should consider the following:
 Connective tissues tend to be very vascular (have a rich blood
supply). Some exceptions, such as tendons, ligaments, and
cartilages, are less vascularized, but overall, connective tissues
possess a great blood supply than the epithelial tissue previously
discussed.
 Connective tissues are made up of many types of specialized cells.

Connective tissues contain a large amount of non-living material
referred to as the matrix (composed of ground substance and
fibers). Typically, this material is manufactured and secreted by the
cells of the specific connective tissues.
There are four types of connective tissues found in the human body
:
1. Connective tissue proper
a. Loose Connective Tissue
i. Areolar
ii. Adipose
iii. Reticular
b. Dense Connective Tissue
i. Dense irregular
ii. Dense regular :
1.Fibrous
2.Elastic
2. Cartilage
a. Hyaline
b. Elastic
c. Fibrocartilage
3. Bone (osseous tissue)
4. Blood
a.Loose Connective Tissue :this tissue is characterized by loosly
arranged fibers and abundance of cells .
i.Areolar : Gel-like matrix with all three fiber types; cells:
fibroblasts, macrophages, mast cells, and some white blood cells.
Location: Widely distributed under epithelia of body, e.g., forms
lamina propria of mucous membranes; packages organs; surrounds
capillaries.
ii. Adipose : Matrix as in areolar, but very sparse; closely packed
adipocytes, or fat cells, have nucleus pushed to the side by large
fat droplet.
Location: Under skin in the hypodermis; around kidneys and
eyeballs; within abdomen.
iii. Reticular : Network of reticular fibers in a typical loose ground
substance; reticular cells lie on the network.
Location: Lymphoid organs (lymph nodes, bone marrow, and spleen).
b. Dense Connective Tissue
i. Dense irregular :it characterized by an abundance of fibers and
few cells , Primarily irregularly arranged collagen fibers; some elastic
fibers; major cell type is the fibroblast. (ex.the dermis in skin, Fibrous
capsules of organs and of joints).
ii. Dense regular :is characterized by ordered and densely packed in
parallel arrays of fibers ,includes:
1.Fibrous : Primarily parallel collagen fibers; a few elastic fibers;
major cell type is the fibroblast.
Location: Tendons,
most ligaments.
2.Elastic: containing a high proportion of elastic fibers.
Location: Walls of large arteries ; within certain ligaments associated
with the vertebral column; within the walls of the bronchial tubes.