Human A&PBIO 304 · American River College ← Week 2 pre-work

BIO 304 · Week 2 · Interactive Workbook

Connective Tissues

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Part 1 of 4 · Recall

Fill in the blanks

Type the term that completes each statement, using the word bank. Pull it from memory first.

Word bank

CellsFibersCollagenElasticFibroblastAdipocyteMast cellAreolarAdiposeDense regularDense irregularHyaline cartilageElastic cartilageBone (osseous)

  1. resident builders and immune cells (see below)
  2. collagen, elastic, or reticular; provide tensile or stretch
  3. thick, strong rope-like fibers; tensile strength (tendons, bone)
  4. thinner, branched; recoil (lungs, large arteries, skin)
  5. most common; makes fibers and ground substance
  6. fat-storing cell; large lipid droplet
  7. releases histamine, heparin; inflammation
  8. loose fibers in jelly; packing material under epithelia
  9. fat-storing; insulation, cushioning, fuel
  10. parallel collagen; tendons and ligaments
  11. collagen in all directions; dermis, organ capsules
  12. smooth, glassy; joint surfaces, trachea, fetal skeleton
  13. with elastic fibers; ear pinna, epiglottis
  14. mineralized collagen; rigid skeleton

Define it: high-yield vocabulary

Write a clear definition in your own words for each term.

  1. Connective tissue
  2. Matrix
  3. Ground substance
  4. Fibroblast
  5. Collagen fiber
  6. Elastic fiber
  7. Areolar (loose) connective tissue
  8. Dense connective tissue
  9. Adipose tissue
  10. Cartilage
  11. Bone
  12. Blood

Part 2 of 4 · Anatomy lab

Draw and label

Box A. Loose vs dense connective tissue

Directions

  1. Left: draw loose (areolar) connective tissue. Show widely spaced collagen and elastic fibers, with fibroblasts (spindle-shaped cells), adipocytes (large round cells with displaced nucleus), and a macrophage scattered between fibers.
  2. Center: draw dense regular connective tissue (tendon or ligament). Show tightly packed parallel collagen fibers with rows of fibroblasts between them.
  3. Right: draw dense irregular connective tissue (dermis). Show thick collagen fibers in a random meshwork with fibroblasts scattered.
  4. Label fibroblast, adipocyte, macrophage, collagen fiber, elastic fiber.
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Box B. Cartilage, bone, and blood

Directions

  1. Left: draw hyaline cartilage. Show chondrocytes inside lacunae (small spaces), embedded in a smooth glassy matrix. Note: no visible fibers under light microscopy.
  2. Center: draw a piece of compact bone. Show one osteon: concentric rings (lamellae) around a central canal (Haversian canal). Place osteocytes in lacunae, with canaliculi (small connecting channels) between them.
  3. Right: draw a blood smear. Show many red blood cells (biconcave, no nucleus), one neutrophil (multi-lobed nucleus), one lymphocyte (large round nucleus). The yellow background is plasma (the fluid matrix).
  4. Label chondrocyte, lacuna, osteocyte, osteon, central canal, canaliculus, red blood cell, white blood cell, plasma.
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Structures to label

Label each on your drawing.

  1. Fibroblast
  2. Adipocyte
  3. Macrophage
  4. Mast cell
  5. Chondrocyte
  6. Lacuna
  7. Osteocyte
  8. Osteon
  9. Collagen fiber
  10. Elastic fiber
  11. Reticular fiber
  12. Ground substance
  13. Central canal
  14. Canaliculus
  15. Red blood cell
  16. White blood cell
  17. Plasma

Part 3 of 4 · Physiology lab

Reason it through

A. Match the cell to the tissue and the job

1. Fibroblast
2. Adipocyte
3. Chondrocyte
4. Osteoblast
5. Osteoclast
6. Macrophage
7. Mast cell

B. Synthesis

1. A patient tears their anterior cruciate ligament. Describe the connective tissue that was torn (cells, fibers, arrangement). Why does this tissue heal so slowly?
2. Cartilage has no blood vessels (it's avascular). Predict how this affects healing after an injury, and explain why athletes with cartilage damage often face long recoveries.
3. Blood is classified as a connective tissue even though it doesn't 'connect' anything visually. Argue, in two or three sentences, why this classification is defensible based on its architecture.

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