Specialized connective tissue

Examine the appearance of tendon (Fig. 5-22) ("dense regular" CT) in the demonstration slide.

• Note the regular parallel arrangement of the collagen fibers and relative absence of other cells besides fibroblasts.
• The relatively low density of cells and blood vessels among the collagen bundles in tendon helps to increase the tensile strength of this tissue, but also contributes to its extremely slow rate of healing after injury.

What is the functional advantage for this type of fiber arrangement?

Examine the reticulin fibers (Fig. 5-12) in the silver-stained, oval lymph node on slide 99.

• Also note the appearance of the collagen bundles in the CT surrounding the lymph node, comparing it with that of the stains examined earlier.

What is the composition of reticulin fibers and their function in lymphoid tissue?

Now let's look for elastic fibers and adipose tissue.