B. Connective (Supportive) Tissues (Cont'd) 



BLOOD 



AND 



LYMPH 



(Fig. 12, H) 



The liquid intercellular matrix is mobile and is the blood 

 plasma. The modified plasma which is outside the 

 blood vessels is the lymph. The colorless plasma con- 

 tains enzymes, hormones, vitamins, foods, wastes, anti- 

 bodies, and three general types of blood corpuscles: 

 (a) erythrocytes (red blood corpuscles) ; (b) leuco- 

 cytes (white blood corpuscles) of various kinds, which 

 vary as to size, shape and size of the nu'cleus, kinds of 

 granules in the cytoplasm, etc.; (c) blood platelets 

 which are small, irregular, nonnucleated (in mam- 

 mals) and comparable to the nucleated spindle cells 

 of the frog; the various corpuscles are considered in 

 greater detail in another chapter. 



Blood carries foods to the cells and wastes from the cells; 

 carries oxygen to the cells and carbon dioxide from 

 the cells of the body; carries foods to the endocrine 

 glands which secrete specific hormones which are 

 transported to various body parts by the blood; 

 equalizes temperature between various body parts; con- 

 tains antibodies which are chemical substances which 

 assist in the body defense in certain diseases; maintains 

 the acid-alkaline balance between various body parts; 

 transports water and other substances from one part 

 of the body to another; destroys bacteria and other 

 foreign particles by phagocytosis on the part of certain 

 leucocytes; assists in blood clotting, etc. 





'Of^ 





# 



Fig. 13. — Human bone shown in cross section. Note the arrangement of 

 lacunae in concentric lamellae around the Haversian canals. Observe the thread- 

 like canaliculi associated with the lacunae. The bone cells are not clearly visible 

 in the lacunae of such a ground section of bone. (Copyright by General Biological 

 Supply House, Inc., Chicago.) 



