Reticular connective tissue
Reticular connective tissue is a type of connective tissue[1] with a network of reticular fibers, made of type III collagen[2] (reticulum = net or network). Reticular fibers are not unique to reticular connective tissue, but only in this tissue type are they dominant.[3]
Reticular fibers are synthesized by special fibroblasts called reticular cells. The fibers are thin branching structures.
Location[edit]
Reticular connective tissue is found around the kidney, liver, the spleen, and lymph nodes, Peyer's patches as well as in bone marrow.[4]
Function[edit]
The fibers form a soft skeleton (stroma) to support the lymphoid organs (lymph node stromal cells, red bone marrow, and spleen).
Adipose tissue is held together by reticular fibers.
Staining[edit]
They can be identified in histology by staining with a heavy metal like silver or the PAS stain that stains carbohydrates. Gordon and Gold can also be used.
Appearance[edit]
Reticular connective tissue resembles areolar connective tissue, but the only fibers in its matrix are reticular fibers, which form a delicate network along which fibroblasts called reticular cells lie scattered. Although reticular fibers are widely distributed in the body, reticular tissue is limited to certain sites. It forms a labyrinth-like stroma (literally, "bed or "mattress"), or internal framework, that can support many free blood cells (largely lymphocytes) in lymph nodes, the spleen, and red bone marrow.
Classification[edit]
There are more than 20 types of reticular fibers. In Reticular Connective Tissue type III collagen/reticular fiber (100-150 nm in diameter) is the major fiber component. It forms the architectural framework of liver, adipose tissue, bone marrow, spleen and basement membrane, to name a few.
See also[edit]
- Deiters cells
- Reticular membrane of the inner ear
References[edit]
Notes
- ^ "reticular tissue" at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
- ^ Strum, Judy M.; Gartner, Leslie P.; Hiatt, James L. (2007). Cell biology and histology. Hagerstwon, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 83. ISBN 0-7817-8577-4.
- ^ "Blue Histology - Connective Tissues". Retrieved 2008-12-05.
- ^ Martini, Frederic H. Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology. Seventh Edition. Pearson Benjamin Cummings. United States. 2006.
External links[edit]
- Anatomy photo: TermsCells&Tissues/connective/reticular/reticular1 - Comparative Organology at University of California, Davis - "Connective tissue, reticular (LM, Medium)"
- Histology at uwa.edu.au