Supportive Connective Tissues

Supportive and distributive connective tissues make up the rest of the connective tissue series.  These all contain fibers, although blood fibers do not become apparent until a potential blood loss initiates clotting.  This is because blood fibers are in a dissolved state until complex physiological checks and balances alter conditions to the point where fibers appear and attempt to stop blood loss. The other (supportive) tissues shown here all have fibers as the bais for containing the ground substance that pretty much defines each of these tissue types.  Much of the time these fibers are not apparent, but they are extremely important in keeping tissue function normal.  Cartilage differs from bone in that cartilage seldom has a direct blood supply ... no blood vessels.  Bone contains very active cells.  The porosity of bone is due to the penetration of blood vessels through bone to keep these cells functioning at all times.  Teeth are essentially bones without cells or blood vessels.  That is why a tooth cannot repair itself if it is broken in the manner that bones do.

Hyaline Cartilage 151.14 Kb	Fibrous Cartilage 140.72 Kb	Elastic Cartilage 205.57 Kb
Endochondral Bone 196.48 Kb	Membraneous bone 212.06 Kb	Tooth (molar) x-section 47.66 Kb
Blood 114 Kb	Blood is not a supportive tissue, but rather a distributive one. <==

• Hyaline Cartilage - Ends of long Bones, Trachea and Larynx, Synchondroses
• Fibrous Cartilage - Intervertebral Disks (most common) and symphyses (less common)
• Elastic Cartilage  - Stiffning of the outer ear.
• Endochondral Bone - Most of the skeleton
• Intramembraneous Bone - Flat bones of the skull
• Teeth - Essentially Bone without cells ... bounded by interlocked enamel molecules
• Blood - a mix of immune defense cells (Leukocytes) and red blood cells (erythrocytes) in a liquid plasma matrix.  Fibers do not appear unless clotting is triggered.