Connective tissue

Connective tissue
Connective tissue
	Section of epididymis. Connective tissue (blue) is seen supporting the epithelium (purple)
Identifiers
MeSH	D003238
FMA	96404
	Anatomical terminology

Connective tissue is one of the four primary types of animal tissue, along with epithelial tissue, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue.^[1] It develops mostly from the mesenchyme, derived from the mesoderm, the middle embryonic germ layer.^[2] Connective tissue is found in between other tissues everywhere in the body, including the nervous system. The three meninges, membranes that envelop the brain and spinal cord, are composed of connective tissue. Most types of connective tissue consists of three main components: elastic and collagen fibers, ground substance, and cells.^[2] Blood, and lymph are classed as specialized fluid connective tissues that do not contain fiber.^[2]^[3] All are immersed in the body water. The cells of connective tissue include fibroblasts, adipocytes, macrophages, mast cells and leukocytes.

The term "connective tissue" (in German, Bindegewebe) was introduced in 1830 by Johannes Peter Müller. The tissue was already recognized as a distinct class in the 18th century.^[4]^[5]

^ Biga, Lindsay M.; Dawson, Sierra; Harwell, Amy (26 September 2019). "4.1 Types of Tissues". Retrieved 30 July 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c Cite error: The named reference Biga was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "5.3.4: Fluid Tissues". Biology LibreTexts. 21 May 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
^ Mathews, M. B. (1975). Connective Tissue, Macromolecular Structure Evolution. Springer-Verlag, Berlin and New York. link.
^ Aterman, K. (1981). "Connective tissue: An eclectic historical review with particular reference to the liver". The Histochemical Journal. 13 (3): 341–396. doi:10.1007/BF01005055. PMID 7019165. S2CID 22765625.

[oregon-1] Biga, Lindsay M.; Dawson, Sierra; Harwell, Amy (26 September 2019). "4.1 Types of Tissues". Retrieved 30 July 2022.

[Biga-2] Cite error: The named reference Biga was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[libre-3] "5.3.4: Fluid Tissues". Biology LibreTexts. 21 May 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2022.

[4] Mathews, M. B. (1975). Connective Tissue, Macromolecular Structure Evolution. Springer-Verlag, Berlin and New York. link.

[5] Aterman, K. (1981). "Connective tissue: An eclectic historical review with particular reference to the liver". The Histochemical Journal. 13 (3): 341–396. doi:10.1007/BF01005055. PMID 7019165. S2CID 22765625.

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