22 FIBRES; CONNECTING TISSUE. 



or of the cornea. There are few organs so poorly 

 supplied with blood-vessels as the former ; and in the 

 latter there are none whatever. It follows, then, that 

 the fluid from which they derive their sustenance 

 penetrates by imbibition into their substance, or that 

 Nerves, it gets there through a net-work of plasmatic cells. 

 There are very few nerves which properly belong to 

 connecting tissue; it is true that some of its mem- 

 branous expansions contain a large number, but they 

 do not minister either to the nutrition, or to the 

 general sensibility, of the tissue which surrounds them. 

 The comparative study of nervous distribution in ten- 

 dons, and in certain regions of the skin confirms this 

 view. 



We may conclude then that, for its own use, con- 

 necting tissue is but scantily supplied with blood- 

 vessels and nerves ; it bears to them mainly the rela- 

 tion of a mechanical support. 



Distribution. Connecting tissue is distributed very generally and 

 universally throughout the body, either collected in 

 bundles or fasciculi of fibres, or spread out in the form 

 of a membranous expansion. It serves as the bond 

 of union between the several parts of an organ, and 

 it maintains entire organs in their proper relations to 

 each other. Alone, it constitutes tendons, ligaments, 

 aponeuroses, periosteum, perichondrium, the dura- 

 mater, pia-mater, and sclerotica. As membrane, in- 

 vested with epithelium, it constitutes the serous, syno- 

 vial, and mucous membranes, as well as the skin, 

 and the membranous expansion which forms the basis 

 of most glands. 



The vitreous humor of the eye, and similar hyaline 



