Dense Connective Tissue

We just learned about Sharpey's Fibres.

The tendons and ligaments we've learned about are examples of what is called Dense Connective Tissue.

This tissue is usually made up of the collagen we learned about, and dense connective tissue is also found in the dermis part of the skin that we learned about.



(from: wikipedia - dense irregular connective tissue)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Dorsal Root

Sharpey's Fibres

We just learned about the ligament.

We know that tendons connect muscles to bones.
The part where the tendon is actually connected to the bone is tied to the bones with something called Sharpey's Fibres.

These are made of collagen, and they are tied into the outer parts of the bone so that the muscle stays connected.


(from: wikipedia - sharpey's fibres)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Anterior Roots

Ligament

We just learned about the Collagen.

Another type of connective tissue is the ligament.

We learned before that tendons connect muscle to bone.
Ligaments connect bones to other bones.


(from: wikipedia - ligament)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Grey Column

Collagen

We just learned about Tendons.

Another part of connective tissue is Collagen.

This is mostly what tendons and other connective tissue are made up, along with skin and many other parts of the body.

Collagen is a protein, that under a microscope looks long and stringy and wraps around other collagen long strings.
These long strings all together work to make a bigger rope.

(from: wikipedia - collagen)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Spinal Nerve

Tendon

We just learned a little about the Connective Tissue.

One type of connective tissue is a Tendon which connects muscle to bone.

Tendons are like a bunch of long thin ropes all bundled together, wrapped in and around the parts or your muscle, and then tied into your bone.

When your muscles tighten, the tendons stretch out until they are tight, just like a rope gets tighter when you pull on it.
As it gets tight, it pulls on the bone it is attached to, which is what moves your bone around.
So your bicep has tendons connected to your forearm, and when you want to bend your elbow, your biceps pulls on your tendon which pulls on the bone and it bends!

(from: wikipedia - tendon)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Foramen Magnum

Connective Tissue

We've learned a lot about the Integumentary System, everything from skin to hair to nails!

Another important part of the human body is all of the Connective Tissue that holds things together.
Tendons are connective tissue that connect muscle to bone, and ligaments connect bone to bone.
All of these types of cells are very important or our muscles and bones would not work together.
They are almost like the strings in a puppet, and without them we fall down!


(from: wikipedia - connective tissue)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Spinal Cord

Paronychium

We just learned about the Eponychium and Cuticle.

Another part of the nail is the Paronychium.

This is the skin on the left and right sides of the nail.


(from: wikipedia - nail (anatomy))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Limbic System

Eponychium and Cuticle

We just learned about the Lunula.

Another two parts of the nail are the eponychium and cuticle.

The cuticle is the part of the skin right above the beginning of the nail or the lunula.
The skin on the cuticle is dead, and is sometimes removed when someone gets their nails done for a manicure.

The eponychium is the living part of the skin that is right before the cuticle, and it is where the cuticle grows from.


(from: wikipedia - eponychium)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Midbrain

Lunula

We just learned about the Nail Plate.

Another part of the nail is the Lunula which means "little moon".

This is the small white crescent shape at the base of your nail, right where it touches the skin and your nail starts.
The lunula is connected to the matrix and the plate, and is the starting point where your nail grows out from the matrix.


(from: wikipedia - lunula (anatomy))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Forebrain

Nail Plate

We just learned about the nail matrix.

Another part of the nail is the nail plate.

This is the big flat part of your nail.
When new cells are being made in the matrix, they are pushed forward to the plate, where they eventually end up at the tip of your fingernail.

(from: wikipedia - nail (anatomy))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Diancephalon

Nail - Matrix

Let's learn a little more about nails.

One part of the nail is the matrix.
This is the skin underneath the very bottom part of the nail, below where the nail meets the skin.

The matrix has nerves and blood vessels, and it is the part that makes new cells that turn into the nails.


(from: wikipedia - nail (anatomy))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hindbrain

Nails

We just learned about sweat glands.

Another part of the integumentary system is the nails.

Even though nails feel hard like bones, they are actually made of something called keratin.
It's the same thing that hair is made out of too.
There are lots of parts of nails, like the plate, lunula, root, sinus, matrix, bed, hyponychium, and margin.

(from: wikipedia - nail (anatomy))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Medulla Oblongata

Sweat glands

We just learned about the Hair - Sebaceous Gland.

Another part of the integumentary system is the sweat gland.

Sweat glands are used to help cool your body down, and for your body to get rid of some waste like salt.

There are two types of sweat glands, the eccrine and apocrine.
The eccrine glands are the ones that are all over your body, and let out the watery sweat when you are hot and sweating.
The apocrine glands are only in a few places, like your armpits.
These apocrine glands also let out some smelly oils, which is part of what makes your body smell if you don't shower.


(from: wikipedia - eccrine sweat gland)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Pons

Hair sebaceous gland

We just learned about the Hair - Muscle.

Another part of the hair is the sebaceous gland.

The sebaceous gland for the hair is what makes your hair get greasy and oily after a while.
This might seem like a bad thing because you have to shower to get the oils off, but without the oil in your hair it would dry up, crack to pieces and fall off of your head.


(from: wikipedia - sebaceous gland)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cerebellum

Hair - Muscle

We just learned about the Hair - Root Sheath.

Another interesting part of human hair is the Hair Muscle.
The fancy name for this muscle is the Arrector pili.

This muscle gets used when your skin gets cold and you get goosebumps on your skin as the hair is shoved out a little.


(from: wikipedia - arrector pili muscle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Subthalamus

Hair - Root Sheath

We just learned about the Hair - Plexus.

Another part of the hair is the Root Sheath.

Just like the skin has layers, the hair also has layers.
A sheath is like a wrapper, and the hair has a soft inner sheath and a harder outer sheath.


(from: wikipedia - rooth sheath)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Epithalamus

Hair - Plexus

We just learned about the different speeds of Hair Growth.

Another part of the human hair is the Plexus.

These are very small nerves that are wrapped around the bottom of the hair follicle, that sense when the hair is moved.
They are very sensitive, which is how your body can feel a light breeze through the hair on your skin.


(from: wikipedia - hair plexus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hypothalamus

Hair Growth

We just learned about the Hair Follicle.

Human hair doesn't always grow at the same speed.
Sometimes it is growing a lot, sometimes it is slowing down, and sometimes it stops growing.

We know that the hair on our head grows longer than the hair on our eyebrows or eyelashes.
Each part of the body has different rules for how long the hair should grow, and when it should stop.

The time for growing of hair is called the anagen phase.
catagen is when the hair growth is slowing down.
telogen is when the hair has stopped growing because it is long enough.

The hair for your eyebrows grows for about 4 months and then stops, but the hair on a human head will keep growing at a normal speed for about 2-7 years!
Human hair usually grows about 6 inches every year, so after 7 years your hair would be four and a half feet long!


(from: wikipedia - human hair growth)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Thalamus

Hair - Follicle

We just learned a little about human Hair.

One part of the hair is the hair follicle.

This is the part of the human skin that makes the hair that then grows up out of the skin.


(from: wikipedia - hair follicle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Occipital Lobe

Hair

We just learned about the Adnexa, things that stick out of your skin.

Part of the Adnexa is Hair.

Even though hair just looks like small strings to us, there are a lot of parts to hair like the root, the follicle, shaft, cuticle, cortex and medulla.
Hair can be curly or straight, and can be many colors like brown, black, blond, red or even white.

It grows on every part of the skin except places like the palms, bottoms of the feet, and lips.



(from: wikipedia - hair)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Temporal Lobe