A convenient place to observe some of these fibers is the mesentery. It is a thin, semitransparent sheet of connective tissue located in the abdominal cavity. Both surfaces of this sheet are covered by a layer of flat epithelial cells called the mesothelium. If you do not remember what a mesothelium is, click on the Glossary link at the top of the page.
The mesentery carries blood and lymphatic vessels and nerves that supply the organs. It also attaches several organs to the inner wall of the abdominal cavity and helps keep them in their proper positions.
The image shows a small fragment of mesentery that has been fixed with a histological fixative, stained and placed on a histological slide.
Because the mesentery is very thin and translucent, it can be observed under a light microscope without first being cut into thin sections. A histological preparation in which an entire small fragment of a tissue or organ is placed on a glass slide, is called a whole-mount preparation or total preparation.
4-4 Connective tissue
FIBRILLAR EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX
FIBERS OF THE CONNECTIVE TISSUE EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX
