Histology and Tissue Properties II: Connective Tissues

Biomaterials ◽  
2014 ◽  
pp. 640-665
Author(s):  
C. N. Sun ◽  
H. J. White

Previously, we have reported on extracellular cross-striated banded structures in human connective tissues of a variety of organs (1). Since then, more material has been examined and other techniques applied. Recently, we studied a fibrocytic meningioma of the falx. After the specimen was fixed in 4% buffered glutaraldehyde and post-fixed in 1% buffered osmium tetroxide, other routine procedures were followed for embedding in Epon 812. Sections were stained with uranyl acetate and lead citrate. There were numerous cross striated banded structures in aggregated bundle forms found in the connecfive tissue of the tumor. The banded material has a periodicity of about 450 Å and where it assumes a filamentous arrangement, appears to be about 800 Å in diameter. In comparison with the vicinal native collagen fibrils, the banded material Is sometimes about twice the diameter of native collagen.


Author(s):  
E. Baer

The most advanced macromolecular materials are found in plants and animals, and certainly the connective tissues in mammals are amongst the most advanced macromolecular composites known to mankind. The efficient use of collagen, a fibrous protein, in the design of both soft and hard connective tissues is worthy of comment. Very crudely, in bone collagen serves as a highly efficient binder for the inorganic hydroxyappatite which stiffens the structure. The interactions between the organic fiber of collagen and the inorganic material seem to occur at the nano (scale) level of organization. Epitatic crystallization of the inorganic phase on the fibers has been reported to give a highly anisotropic, stress responsive, structure. Soft connective tissues also have sophisticated oriented hierarchical structures. The collagen fibers are “glued” together by a highly hydrated gel-like proteoglycan matrix. One of the simplest structures of this type is tendon which functions primarily in uniaxial tension as a reinforced elastomeric cable between muscle and bone.


1962 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 619-624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn Tengroth ◽  
Uno Zackrisson

ABSTRACT The general change in the connective tissues which occurs in animals with experimentally produced exophthalmos, consists in an increase in the amount of hyaluronic acid, which binds the water in the connective tissue. Many regard this process as a stimulation of the mucinous system in the connective tissues, and consider this an explanation of the phenomenon of exophthalmos. When the experimental animals are injected with thyroxine or thyroid extract, the reaction observed is opposite to that seen following the injection of the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland. In the former case, there is a reduction in the amount of hyaluronic acid and consequently a decrease in the water content in the connective tissues. In the experiments in question, Na-d-thyroxine and Na-l-thyroxine), in crystalline form, were tested for their inhibiting effect on the development of exophthalmos in experimental animals. The animals used were male albino guinea-pigs. An extract of the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland (TSH Organon)) was used to produce exophthalmos. In previous work (Tengroth 1961), it was shown, using an X-ray measuring technique, that d-thyroxine, despite its poor caloric effect, like l-thyroxine had an exophthalmos-inhibiting effect. When comparing the dose-response curves of the exophthalmos-inhibiting properties of both these optical isomers, it appears that d-thyroxine has an inhibiting effect which is significantly greater than that of l-thyroxine. The significance of this observation is discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 433-440
Author(s):  
Hyeong-Min Jeon ◽  
Ki-Kwang Lee ◽  
Jun-Young Lee ◽  
Ju-Hwan Shin ◽  
Gwang-Moon Eom

BACKGROUND: Joint loads in different walking strategies during stair descent have been investigated in terms of the joint moment in association with the risk of osteoarthritis. However, the absorption mechanisms of the potential energy loss are not known. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to compare the mechanical energy absorptions in lower limb joints in different initial foot contact strategies. METHODS: Nineteen young subjects walked down on instrumented stairs with two different strategies, i.e., forefoot and rearfoot strike. Power and energy at lower limb joints during stance phase were compared between strategies. RESULTS: Lower limb joints absorbed 73 ± 11% of the potential energy released by descending stairs and there was no difference between strategies. Rearfoot strategy absorbed less energy than forefoot strategy at the ankle joint in the 1st phase, which was compensated mainly by more energy absorption at the knee in the 2nd phase and less energy generation at the hip joints in the 3rd phase. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that a leg absorbs most of the potential energy while descending stairs irrespective of the walking strategies and that any reduction of energy absorption at one joint is compensated by other joints. Greater energy absorption at the knee joint compared to the other joints suggests high burden of knee joint muscles and connective tissues during stair-descent, which is even more significant for the rearfoot strike strategy.


NeuroImage ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 118161
Author(s):  
Elveda Gozdas ◽  
Hannah Fingerhut ◽  
Hua Wu ◽  
Jennifer L. Bruno ◽  
Lauren Dacorro ◽  
...  

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 3010
Author(s):  
Raphael Lamprecht ◽  
Florian Scheible ◽  
Marion Semmler ◽  
Alexander Sutor

Ultrasound elastography is a constantly developing imaging technique which is capable of displaying the elastic properties of tissue. The measured characteristics could help to refine physiological tissue models, but also indicate pathological changes. Therefore, elastography data give valuable insights into tissue properties. This paper presents an algorithm that measures the spatially resolved Young’s modulus of inhomogeneous gelatin phantoms using a CINE sequence of a quasi-static compression and a load cell measuring the compressing force. An optical flow algorithm evaluates the resulting images, the stresses and strains are computed, and, conclusively, the Young’s modulus and the Poisson’s ratio are calculated. The whole algorithm and its results are evaluated by a performance descriptor, which determines the subsequent calculation and gives the user a trustability index of the modulus estimation. The algorithm shows a good match between the mechanically measured modulus and the elastography result—more precisely, the relative error of the Young’s modulus estimation with a maximum error 35%. Therefore, this study presents a new algorithm that is capable of measuring the elastic properties of gelatin specimens in a quantitative way using only the image data. Further, the computation is monitored and evaluated by a performance descriptor, which measures the trustability of the results.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 2485
Author(s):  
Wan-Hsin Chang ◽  
Pei-Yi Liu ◽  
Min-Hsuan Lin ◽  
Chien-Ju Lu ◽  
Hsuan-Yi Chou ◽  
...  

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a glycosaminoglycan that was first isolated and identified from the vitreous body of a bull’s eye. HA is ubiquitous in the soft connective tissues of animals and therefore has high tissue compatibility for use in medication. Because of HA’s biological safety and water retention properties, it has many ophthalmology-related applications, such as in intravitreal injection, dry eye treatment, and contact lenses. Due to its broad range of applications, the identification and quantification of HA is a critical topic. This review article discusses current methods for analyzing HA. Contact lenses have become a widely used medical device, with HA commonly used as an additive to their production material, surface coating, and multipurpose solution. HA molecules on contact lenses retain moisture and increase the wearer’s comfort. HA absorbed by contact lenses can also gradually release to the anterior segment of the eyes to treat dry eye. This review discusses applications of HA in ophthalmology.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document