Which tissue has a chicken-wire appearance?

Which tissue has a chicken-wire appearance?

• A. Adipose tissue
• B. Dense regular connective tissue
• C. Hyaline cartilage
• D. Areolar loose connective tissue

Answer: (A)

The question hinges on recognizing a net-like, fine mesh pattern in tissue sections. The chicken-wire appearance comes from the loose, irregular network of fibers in areolar loose connective tissue. Its collagen and elastic fibers crisscross in many directions within a gel-like ground substance, creating that delicate, webbed look. This flexible network supports and cushions surrounding tissues and allows diffusion of nutrients. Adipose tissue, with large lipid-filled adipocytes and nuclei pushed to the periphery, looks bubbly rather than mesh-like. Dense regular connective tissue shows tightly packed parallel collagen bundles, not a loose net. Hyaline cartilage has a smooth, glassy matrix with chondrocytes in lacunae, lacking the fibrous mesh pattern. So, the chicken-wire appearance is characteristic of areolar loose connective tissue.

The question hinges on recognizing a net-like, fine mesh pattern in tissue sections. The chicken-wire appearance comes from the loose, irregular network of fibers in areolar loose connective tissue. Its collagen and elastic fibers crisscross in many directions within a gel-like ground substance, creating that delicate, webbed look. This flexible network supports and cushions surrounding tissues and allows diffusion of nutrients.

Adipose tissue, with large lipid-filled adipocytes and nuclei pushed to the periphery, looks bubbly rather than mesh-like. Dense regular connective tissue shows tightly packed parallel collagen bundles, not a loose net. Hyaline cartilage has a smooth, glassy matrix with chondrocytes in lacunae, lacking the fibrous mesh pattern. So, the chicken-wire appearance is characteristic of areolar loose connective tissue.