Reticular connective tissue is a type of connective tissue.[1] It has a network of reticular fibers, made of type III collagen.[2] Reticular fibers are not unique to reticular connective tissue, but only in this type are they dominant.[3]
Reticular fibers are synthesized by special fibroblasts called reticular cells. The fibers are thin branching structures.
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Function
The fibers form a soft skeleton (stroma) to support the lymphoid organs (lymph nodes, red bone marrow, and spleen). (The thymus is the only lymphoid organ that does not contain reticular connective tissue.)
Adipose tissue is held together by reticular fibers.
Staining
They can be identified in histology by staining with a heavy metal like silver or the PAS stain that stains carbohydrates.
Appearance
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 (large lymphocytes) in lymph nodes, the spleen, and red bone marrow.
Classification
There are more than 20 types of reticular fibres. In Reticular Connective Tissue type III collagen/reticular fiber (100-150nm in diameter) is the major fiber component. It forms the architectural framework of; liver, adipose tissue, bone marrow, spleen, basement membrane to name a few
References
- ^ 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". http://www.lab.anhb.uwa.edu.au/mb140/CorePages/Connective/Connect.htm#reticular. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
External links
- Organology at UC Davis TermsCells&Tissues/connective/reticular/reticular1 - "Connective tissue, reticular (LM, Medium)"
- Histology at uwa.edu.au
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