ORGANIZATION. 35 
It surrounds the bones, muscles, blood-vessels, nerves, and 
glands, and is the substance of the ligaments, tendons, 
“true skin,’ mucous mem- 
branes, etc. It varies in 
character, being soft, ten- 
der, and elastic, or dense, 
tough, and generally un- wD | 
yielding. In the former 7 q ( 
state, it consists of innu- (RW CYC ay, 
merable fine white and yel- oe 
low fibres, which interlace Ay/ 
in all directions, leaving | 
irregular spaces, and form- 
ing a loose, spongy, moist 
web. In the latter, the 
fibres are condensed into sheets or parallel cords, having 
\ 
structure, X 25. 
Fig. 4.—Connective Tissue from human peritoneum; highly magnified; @, containing 
blood-vessel. 
