Dense irregular connective tissue stretching forces from different directions. Dense irregular connective tissue also makes up submucosa of the digestive tract, fibrous capsules of joints and lymph nodes, and some types of fascia. Other examples include periosteum and perichondrium of bones, and the tunica albuginea of testis. In the submucosa layer, the fiber bundles course in varying planes allowing the organ to resist excessive stretching and distension. Dense irregular connective tissue Dense irregular connective tissue has fibers that are not arranged in parallel bundles as in dense regular connective tissue. Dense irregular connective tissue consists of mostly collagen fibers. It has less ground substance
Reticular connective tissue marrow, and spleen). Adipose tissue is held together by reticular fibers. They can be identified in histology by staining with a heavy metal like silver or the PAS stain that stains carbohydrates. Gordon and Gold can also be used. Reticular connective tissue resembles areolar connective tissue, but the only fibers in its matrix are reticular fibers, which form a delicate network along which fibroblasts called reticular cells lie scattered. Although reticular fibers are widely distributed in the body, reticular tissue is limited to certain sites. It forms a labyrinth-like stroma (literally, "bed or "mattress"), or internal framework, that can support