4 6 



THE CONNECTIVE TISSUES. 



[CH. IV. 



cell, which project away from the chief part of the cell in different 

 directions. These processes not being in the same plane as the 

 body of the cell are out of focus, and give rise to these bright 

 stripes when the cells are looked at from above and are in focus. 



Fig. 63. Cell spaces of tendon, brought into view by treatment with silver nitrate. 

 (After Schafer.) 



The branched character of the cells is seen in transverse section 

 in fig. 62. 



The cell spaces in which the cells lie are in arrangement like 

 the cells ; they can be brought into relief by staining with silver 

 nitrate (see fig. 63). 



Elastic Tissue. 



This is a form of connective tissue in which the yellow or 

 elastic fibres predominate. The yellow fibres are larger than those 



found in areolar tissue (see fig. 64), 

 and are bound into bundles by 

 areolar tissue. It is found in the 

 ligamentum nuchse of the ox, horse, 

 and many other animals ; in the 

 ligamenta subflava of man ; in the 

 arteries and veins, constituting the 

 fenestrated coat of Henle ; in the 

 lungs and trachea ; in the stylo- 

 hyoid, thyro-hyoid, and crico-thy- 

 roid ligaments; in the true vocal 

 cords. 



Structure. Elastic tissue occurs 

 in various forms, from a structure- 

 less, elastic membrane to a tissue 

 whose chief constituents are bundles 

 of fibres crossing each other at 

 different angles ; when seen in 

 bundles elastic fibres are yellowish 

 in colour, but individual fibres are not so distinctly coloured. The 



Fig. 64. Elastic fibres from the liga- 

 menta subflava. X 200. (Sharpey.) 



