collagen fibers

collagen fibers
collagenous fibers the soft, flexible, white fibers that are the most characteristic constituent of all types of connective tissue. They consist of the protein collagen and are composed of bundles of fibrils that are in turn made up of smaller unit fibrils; see also collagen fibrils, under fibril. In describing the hierarchy of arrangement of collagen structure, the terms fiber and fibril are sometimes loosely interchanged.

Loose connective tissue in the mesentery in a whole mount preparation, showing collagen fibers (red) and a network of thin elastin fibers (black), with interspersed oval gray nuclei, mainly of fibroblasts.


Medical dictionary. 2011.

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  • Collagen — Tropocollagen triple helix Collagen /ˈkɒlədʒɨn/ is a group of naturally occurring proteins found in animals, especially in the flesh and connective tissues of mammals.[1] It is the main component of connectiv …   Wikipedia

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  • collagen fibrils — delicate fibrils of collagen in connective tissue, composed of molecules of tropocollagen in linear arrays. In Type I collagen, the most common type, the tropocollagen molecules are associated in periodic, staggered arrays that give the… …   Medical dictionary

  • collagen — collagenous /keuh laj euh neuhs/, adj. /kol euh jeuhn/, n. Biochem. any of a class of extracellular proteins abundant in higher animals, esp. in the skin, bone, cartilage, tendon, and teeth, forming strong insoluble fibers and serving as… …   Universalium

  • collagen disease — noun : any of various diseases or abnormal states marked by changes in connective tissue presumably involving destruction of collagen (as rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatic fever, or scleroderma) * * * Pathol. any of a group of diseases, as systemic …   Useful english dictionary

  • collagen — noun /ˈkɒlədʒɛn/ Any of more than 28 types of glycoprotein that forms elongated fibers, usually found in the extracellular matrix of connective tissue …   Wiktionary

  • reticular fibers — Type III collagen fibers, differing from most other type of collagen fibers in staining with silver; they form the reticular supporting meshwork of lymphoid and myeloid tissue and occur also in the interstitial tissue of glandular organs, the… …   Medical dictionary

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