What are the elastic fibers and collagen fibers?
Elastic fibers (elastic fiber) elastic fiber yellow in loose connective tissue slightly, strong refraction, elastic. Generally more delicate than collagen fibers, fibers have branches, arranged scattered. Its chemical composition is mainly elastin (elastin), which has greater tolerance to traction. Elastic fibers of the skin and tendons are produced by fibroblasts, which are produced by smooth muscle cells in large vessels. Elastic fiber Description: dyed blue, purple, a single distribution, has branches, and woven into a net. SEM observation showed that elastic fiber contained two components: Micro fibril and homogeneous substance. Fibrils are arranged in the form of structural glycoproteins that surround the homogeneous substance, elastin.
Collagen fibers (collagenous, fiber) collagen fibers are arranged in bundles of loose connective tissue, interwoven with each other, and the fiber bundles are often branched. The fiber has tenacity and good traction resistance. Collagen fibrils were composed of finer fibrils (microfibrils) by electron microscopy. The micro fibril has a special transverse band with a period of 64nm. Each micro fibril has a sequence of light and shade. In comparison with dark band chemical root more free, so more electron microscopic retention stain of collagen fibers: pink, fasciculate, fibrils most of them can not see; collagen fiber mainly containing collagen, amino acid glycine, proline and hydroxyproline. Collagen is the only protein with more hydroxyproline. Therefore, the determination of hydroxyproline can determine the content of collagen in tissues. Collagen accounts for 30% of whole body protein. Protein molecules polymerized into collagen fibrils are called procollagen molecules. Collagen fiber is the most widely distributed and most widely used fiber in three fibers. Widely distributed in various organs. The skin, sclera, and tendon are the most abundant. The staining of collagen fibers is mainly used for the identification of muscle fibers. In children, the proportion of gum fibers in bones is large, and osteoblasts are very active in the manufacture of bone. As a result, children have large bone elasticity and are not easily broken.
