IPHY 3410 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Reticular Fiber, Elastic Fiber, Fibril

• School: CU-Boulder
• Department: Integrative Physiology
• Course: IPHY 3410
• Professor: Leif Saul

Document Summary

Connective tissue: characteristics, relatively few cells, large amount of extracellular matrix (nonliving material, outside the cells) -fibers: extracellular matrix determine tissue properties, vascularized (except cartilage, functions, support & protection, defense, passageway for nerves & vessels, transport & exchange (via blood & interstitial fluid) * collagen molecule (type i is most common) *collagen fibril= group of collagen molecules bond together. *collagen fiber= group of collagen fibrils bound together. --properties: resists tension (pulling), in scar formation, gelatin (jelly-o), glue maker (used of collagen in the past: reticular fiber. * each reticular fiber is made of specialized collagen fibrils (made of type iii collagen molecules) *properties: forms delicate network with lots of spaces, allows smooth gliding/ deformation (used at boundaries of tissue, ex: surrounds capillaries: elastic fibers. *main protein is elastin (coils up at rest, elastic molecules cross- linked in large group to form a fiber, not fibrils) *properties: highly elastic (recoils to original shape after being stretches)