What are three examples of dense tissue?

• A. Tendons
• B. Ligaments
• C. Tendons, ligaments and organ capsule
• D. Bone and cartilage

Answer: (C)

Dense connective tissue is built from tightly packed collagen fibers, giving high tensile strength and resistances to pulling forces. Tendons are a classic example, with collagen fibers aligned along the direction of muscle pull to efficiently transmit force from muscle to bone. Ligaments share this dense fiber content, but their fibers are arranged to withstand forces at joints, providing stability; they’re another form of dense regular connective tissue. Organ capsules, such as joint capsules, are dense irregular connective tissue, where collagen fibers weave in many directions to resist stresses from multiple angles.

Bone and cartilage aren’t categorized as dense connective tissue in this sense. Bone is a mineralized, specialized tissue designed for rigid support and housing marrow, while cartilage is a flexible, avascular tissue with a gel-like matrix. So the three clear examples of dense tissue here are tendons, ligaments, and organ capsules.