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What are the Different Tissue Types in the Body?

Daniel Liden
Daniel Liden

Tissue is a biological term that refers to groupings of cells that have the same general structure and function. In the biological levels of organization, tissue is categorized between cells and organisms, as tissue is composed of cells and organisms are composed of tissue. There are many types of tissue in the body that serve many different purposes, from simply holding parts of the body together to moving nutrients and other materials throughout the body. There are four main tissue types: connective tissue, muscle tissue, nervous tissue, and epithelial tissue. These tissue types all work in conjunction to make a complete organism.

Connective tissue supports and holds other kinds of tissue in place. It tends to be fibrous in nature and often works with various nonliving structural components in the body to provide support. Bones and blood are both considered to be connective tissues.

Scar tissue.
Scar tissue.

Muscle tissue is significant because of its ability to contract and relax in order to exert force on the outside world. There are several different types of tissue that fall into the category of muscle tissue. Smooth muscle tissue, for example, lines the insides of some organs and skeletal muscular tissue is used for movement and for purposeful force. The heart is composed of a specific kind of muscle tissue known as cardiac muscle.

Respiratory epithelial tissue can be separated by bands of inflamed tissue and muscle.
Respiratory epithelial tissue can be separated by bands of inflamed tissue and muscle.

Nervous tissue is used for sending signals throughout the body. Nervous tissue connects to most of the other tissue types in the body, providing commands and information where needed. Both the central nervous system, which is composed of the brain and the spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system, which is made up of the other nerves in the body, are made of nervous tissue.

Very minor cuts and scrapes rarely scar, but the skin is replaced by scar tissue in most other injuries.
Very minor cuts and scrapes rarely scar, but the skin is replaced by scar tissue in most other injuries.

Epithelial tissue serves as a lining for many other tissue types. Skin, for example, is a kind of epithelial tissue that covers the whole surface of the body. Some kinds of epithelial tissue form a single layer over whatever it happens to be coating while others form thick layers.

Another variety of tissue that is very important is scar tissue. When other tissue types, particularly epithelial tissue, are damaged, they may never be restored to their original state. In this case, fibrous tissue known as scar tissue forms. Scarring is a normal part of the healing process; almost all wounds with the exception of very minor cuts and scrapes tend to scar eventually. In spite of this, scar tissue is generally not as effective as the tissue it replaces.

Discussion Comments

anon953612

I believe epithelium is the most durable tissue type. Think about how it covers your body, the inside of your mouth and also the digestive tract.

anon925810

What do the four tissue types have in common; connective, epithelial, muscle and nervous? And how do these structures relate to their function?

matthewc23

@jmc88 - I believe the heart is one of, if not the strongest muscle in the body, so I would agree with you.

It seems like several of the tissue types would have to work together to make up different parts of our bodies.

Thinking of heart tissue types: blood vessels would be connective, the article mentions cardiac muscle, nervous tissue would tell the heart to pump, and the heart is surrounded by a sac that's probably made of epithelial tissue.

I'm sure there are plenty of examples that I can't think of right now.

jmc88

I never would have thought of blood as a type of tissue, but it makes sense, since the vessels are like a net inside of our bodies.

What is the most durable tissue type? I would assume muscle tissue.

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    • Scar tissue.
      Scar tissue.
    • Respiratory epithelial tissue can be separated by bands of inflamed tissue and muscle.
      By: Yale Rosen
      Respiratory epithelial tissue can be separated by bands of inflamed tissue and muscle.
    • Very minor cuts and scrapes rarely scar, but the skin is replaced by scar tissue in most other injuries.
      By: WideAwake
      Very minor cuts and scrapes rarely scar, but the skin is replaced by scar tissue in most other injuries.
    • Dermabrasion, chemical peels and a number of other treatments are used to strip away the outer layer of skin as well as some fibrous scar tissue.
      By: Photographee.eu
      Dermabrasion, chemical peels and a number of other treatments are used to strip away the outer layer of skin as well as some fibrous scar tissue.