Describe the types of connective tissues along with their functions

CBSE Class 9 CBSE Class 9 Science
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Describe the types of connective tissues along with their functions.

Answer:
There are five types of connective tissues:

  1. Areolar connective tissue: It is a loose and cellular connective tissue. It joins skin to muscles,
    fills spaces inside organs, and is found around muscles, blood vessels and nerves.
    Functions:
  • It acts as a supporting and packing tissue between organs lying in the body cavity.
  • It helps in repair of tissues after an injury.
  • It also helps in combating foreign toxins.
  • It fixes skin to underlying muscles.
  1. Dense regular connective tissue: It is a fibrous connective tissue, characterised by ordered and densely packed collection of fibres and cells. Dense regular connective tissue is the principal component of tendons and ligaments.
    Functions:
  • Tendons: Tendons are cord-like, strong, inelastic structures that join skeletal muscles to bones.
  • Ligament: They are an elastic structure which connects bones to bones.
  1. Adipose tissue: Adipose tissue is basically an aggregation of fat cells. The adipose tissue is abundant below the skin, between the internal organs and in the yellow bone marrow.
    Functions:
  • It serves as a fat reservoir.
  • It provides shape to the limbs and the body.
  • It keeps visceral organs in position.
  • It forms shock-absorbing cushions around kidneys and eyeballs.
  • It acts as an insulator. Being a poor conductor of heat, it reduces heat loss from body, i.e., it regulates body temperature.
  1. Skeletal tissue: The skeletal or supporting tissue includes bone and cartilage which form the endoskeleton of vertebrate body.
  • Cartilage: The cartilage is a specialised connective tissue which is compact and less vascular. Cartilage can be found in ear pinna, nose tip, epiglottis, intervertebral discs, end of long bones, lower ends of ribs and rings of trachea.
  • Bone: Bone is a strong and non-flexible tissue. Like cartilage, bone is also a specialised connective tissue.
    Functions:
  • Cartilage provides support and flexibility to the body parts. It smoothens the surface at joints.
  • Bone provides shape and skeletal support to body.
  • Bone protects vital body organs such as brain, lungs, etc.
  • Bone anchors the muscles. *.
  1. Fluid connective tissue: Fluid connective tissue links the different parts of the body and maintains continuity in the body. It includes blood and lymph.
  • Blood: In this tissue, cells move in a fluid or liquid matrix or medium called blood plasma. Blood occurs in blood vessels called arteries, veins, and capillaries which are connected together to form the circulatory system.
  • Lymph: Lymph is a colourless fluid that has been filtered out of the blood capillaries.
    Functions:
  • Blood transports nutrients, hormones and vitamins to the tissues and transports excretory products from the tissues to the liver and kidney.
  • Lymph transports the nutrients (oxygen, glucose) that may have filtered out of the blood capillaries back into the heart to be recirculated in the body.
  • Lymph brings C02 and nitrogenous wastes from tissues to the blood.