Soft tissue
Encyclopedia
In anatomy
, the term soft tissue refers to tissues
that connect, support, or surround other structures and organ
s of the body, not being bone
. Soft tissue includes tendon
s, ligament
s, fascia
, skin
, fibrous tissues, fat
, and synovial membranes (which are connective tissue
), and muscle
s, nerve
s and blood vessel
s (which are not connective tissue).
It is sometimes defined by what it is not. For example, soft tissue has been defined as "nonepithelial, extraskeletal mesenchyme
exclusive of the reticuloendothelial system and glia".
of this kind of tissue are the collagen
, elastin
and ground substance
. Normally the soft tissue is very hydrated because of the ground substance. The fibroblasts are the most common cell responsible for the production of soft tissues' fibers and ground substance. Variations of fibroblasts, like chondroblasts, may also produce these substances.
, elastin confers stiffness
to the tissue and stores most of the strain energy
. The collagen fibers are comparatively inextensible and are usually loose (wavy,crimped). With increasing tissue deformation the collagen is gradually stretched in the direction of deformation. When taut, these fibers produce a strong growth in tissue stiffness. The composite
behavior is analogous to a nylon stocking, whose rubber band does the role of elastin as the nylon
does the role of collagen. In soft tissues the collagen limits the deformation and protects the tissues from injury.
Soft tissues have the potential to undergo big deformations and still come back to the initial configuration when unloaded. The stress-strain curve
is nonlinear, as can be seen in Figure 1. The soft tissues are also viscoelastic, incompressible and usually anisotropic. Some viscoelastic properties observable in soft tissues are: relaxation, creep
and hysteresis
.
model after precondition to a load pattern. After some cycles of loading and unloading the material, the mechanical response becomes independent of strain rate.
Despite the independence of strain rate, preconditioned soft tissues still present hysteresis, so the mechanical response can be modeled as hyperelastic with different material constants at loading and unloading (see Figure 1). By this method the elasticity theory is used to model an inelastic material. Fung has called this model as pseudoelastic to point out that the material is not truly elastic.
that may be released when the tissue is excised
. Physiologists and histologists must be aware of this fact to avoid mistakes when analyzing excised tissues. This retraction usually causes a visual artifact
.
developed a constitutive equation
for preconditioned soft tissues which is
with
quadratic forms of Green-Lagrange strains
and 
, 
and 
material constants. 
is the strain energy function
per volume unit, which is the mechanical strain energy for a given temperature.
(bone remodeling
). Mechanobiology
is the science that study the relation between stress and growth at cellular level.
Growth and remodeling have a major role in the etiology of some common soft tissue diseases, like arterial stenosis
and aneurisms and any soft tissue fibrosis
. Other instance of tissue remodeling, is the thickening of the cardiac muscle
in response to the growth of blood pressure
detected by the arterial
wall.
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
, the term soft tissue refers to tissues
Tissue (biology)
Tissue is a cellular organizational level intermediate between cells and a complete organism. A tissue is an ensemble of cells, not necessarily identical, but from the same origin, that together carry out a specific function. These are called tissues because of their identical functioning...
that connect, support, or surround other structures and organ
Organ (anatomy)
In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in structural unit to serve a common function. Usually there is a main tissue and sporadic tissues . The main tissue is the one that is unique for the specific organ. For example, main tissue in the heart is the myocardium, while sporadic are...
s of the body, not being bone
Osseous tissue
Osseous tissue, or bone tissue, is the major structural and supportive connective tissue of the body. Osseous tissue forms the rigid part of the bone organs that make up the skeletal system.-Formation:Bone tissue is a mineralized connective tissue...
. Soft tissue includes tendon
Tendon
A tendon is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue that usually connects muscle to bone and is capable of withstanding tension. Tendons are similar to ligaments and fasciae as they are all made of collagen except that ligaments join one bone to another bone, and fasciae connect muscles to other...
s, ligament
Ligament
In anatomy, the term ligament is used to denote any of three types of structures. Most commonly, it refers to fibrous tissue that connects bones to other bones and is also known as articular ligament, articular larua, fibrous ligament, or true ligament.Ligament can also refer to:* Peritoneal...
s, fascia
Fascia
A fascia is a layer of fibrous tissue that permeates the human body. A fascia is a connective tissue that surrounds muscles, groups of muscles, blood vessels, and nerves, binding those structures together in much the same manner as plastic wrap can be used to hold the contents of sandwiches...
, skin
Skin
-Dermis:The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis that consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis by a basement membrane. It also harbors many Mechanoreceptors that provide the sense of touch and heat...
, fibrous tissues, fat
Fat
Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure...
, and synovial membranes (which are connective tissue
Connective tissue
"Connective tissue" is a fibrous tissue. It is one of the four traditional classes of tissues . Connective Tissue is found throughout the body.In fact the whole framework of the skeleton and the different specialized connective tissues from the crown of the head to the toes determine the form of...
), and muscle
Muscle
Muscle is a contractile tissue of animals and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. Muscle cells contain contractile filaments that move past each other and change the size of the cell. They are classified as skeletal, cardiac, or smooth muscles. Their function is to...
s, nerve
Nerve
A peripheral nerve, or simply nerve, is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of peripheral axons . A nerve provides a common pathway for the electrochemical nerve impulses that are transmitted along each of the axons. Nerves are found only in the peripheral nervous system...
s and blood vessel
Blood vessel
The blood vessels are the part of the circulatory system that transports blood throughout the body. There are three major types of blood vessels: the arteries, which carry the blood away from the heart; the capillaries, which enable the actual exchange of water and chemicals between the blood and...
s (which are not connective tissue).
It is sometimes defined by what it is not. For example, soft tissue has been defined as "nonepithelial, extraskeletal mesenchyme
Mesenchyme
Mesenchyme, or mesenchymal connective tissue, is a type of undifferentiated loose connective tissue that is derived mostly from mesoderm, although some are derived from other germ layers; e.g. some mesenchyme is derived from neural crest cells and thus originates from the ectoderm...
exclusive of the reticuloendothelial system and glia".
Composition
The characteristic substances inside the extracellular matrixExtracellular matrix
In biology, the extracellular matrix is the extracellular part of animal tissue that usually provides structural support to the animal cells in addition to performing various other important functions. The extracellular matrix is the defining feature of connective tissue in animals.Extracellular...
of this kind of tissue are the collagen
Collagen
Collagen is a group of naturally occurring proteins found in animals, especially in the flesh and connective tissues of mammals. It is the main component of connective tissue, and is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up about 25% to 35% of the whole-body protein content...
, elastin
Elastin
Elastin is a protein in connective tissue that is elastic and allows many tissues in the body to resume their shape after stretching or contracting. Elastin helps skin to return to its original position when it is poked or pinched. Elastin is also an important load-bearing tissue in the bodies of...
and ground substance
Ground substance
Ground substance is a term for the non-cellular components of extracellular matrix which contain the fibers.It is usually not visible on slides, because it is removed during the preparation process....
. Normally the soft tissue is very hydrated because of the ground substance. The fibroblasts are the most common cell responsible for the production of soft tissues' fibers and ground substance. Variations of fibroblasts, like chondroblasts, may also produce these substances.
Mechanical Characteristics
At small strainsDeformation (mechanics)
Deformation in continuum mechanics is the transformation of a body from a reference configuration to a current configuration. A configuration is a set containing the positions of all particles of the body...
, elastin confers stiffness
Stiffness
Stiffness is the resistance of an elastic body to deformation by an applied force along a given degree of freedom when a set of loading points and boundary conditions are prescribed on the elastic body.-Calculations:...
to the tissue and stores most of the strain energy
Strain energy
In a molecule, strain energy is released when the constituent atoms are allowed to rearrange themselves in a chemical reaction or a change of chemical conformation in a way that:* angle strain,* torsional strain,* ring strain and/or steric strain,...
. The collagen fibers are comparatively inextensible and are usually loose (wavy,crimped). With increasing tissue deformation the collagen is gradually stretched in the direction of deformation. When taut, these fibers produce a strong growth in tissue stiffness. The composite
Composite material
Composite materials, often shortened to composites or called composition materials, are engineered or naturally occurring materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties which remain separate and distinct at the macroscopic or...
behavior is analogous to a nylon stocking, whose rubber band does the role of elastin as the nylon
Nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...
does the role of collagen. In soft tissues the collagen limits the deformation and protects the tissues from injury.
Soft tissues have the potential to undergo big deformations and still come back to the initial configuration when unloaded. The stress-strain curve
Stress-strain curve
During tensile testing of a material sample, the stress–strain curve is a graphical representation of the relationship between stress, derived from measuring the load applied on the sample, and strain, derived from measuring the deformation of the sample, i.e. elongation, compression, or distortion...
is nonlinear, as can be seen in Figure 1. The soft tissues are also viscoelastic, incompressible and usually anisotropic. Some viscoelastic properties observable in soft tissues are: relaxation, creep
Creep (deformation)
In materials science, creep is the tendency of a solid material to slowly move or deform permanently under the influence of stresses. It occurs as a result of long term exposure to high levels of stress that are below the yield strength of the material....
and hysteresis
Hysteresis
Hysteresis is the dependence of a system not just on its current environment but also on its past. This dependence arises because the system can be in more than one internal state. To predict its future evolution, either its internal state or its history must be known. If a given input alternately...
.
Pseudoelasticity
Even though soft tissues have viscoelastic properties, i.e. stress as function of strain rate, it can be approximated by a hyperelasticHyperelastic material
A hyperelastic or Green elastic material is a type of constitutive model for ideally elastic material for which the stress-strain relationship derives from a strain energy density function. The hyperelastic material is a special case of a Cauchy elastic material.For many materials, linear elastic...
model after precondition to a load pattern. After some cycles of loading and unloading the material, the mechanical response becomes independent of strain rate.
Despite the independence of strain rate, preconditioned soft tissues still present hysteresis, so the mechanical response can be modeled as hyperelastic with different material constants at loading and unloading (see Figure 1). By this method the elasticity theory is used to model an inelastic material. Fung has called this model as pseudoelastic to point out that the material is not truly elastic.
Residual stress
In physiological state soft tissues usually present residual stressResidual stress
Residual stresses are stresses that remain after the original cause of the stresses has been removed. They remain along a cross section of the component, even without the external cause. Residual stresses occur for a variety of reasons, including inelastic deformations and heat treatment...
that may be released when the tissue is excised
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
. Physiologists and histologists must be aware of this fact to avoid mistakes when analyzing excised tissues. This retraction usually causes a visual artifact
Artifact (error)
In natural science and signal processing, an artifact is any error in the perception or representation of any visual or aural information introduced by the involved equipment or technique....
.
Fung-elastic material
FungYuan-Cheng Fung
Yuan-Cheng "Bert" Fung is a scientist regarded as a founding figure of bioengineering, tissue engineering, and the "Founder of Modern Biomechanics".-Biography:Fung was born in Jiangsu Province, China in 1919...
developed a constitutive equation
Constitutive equation
In physics, a constitutive equation is a relation between two physical quantities that is specific to a material or substance, and approximates the response of that material to external forces...
for preconditioned soft tissues which is
with
quadratic forms of Green-Lagrange strains
and , and material constants. is the strain energy functionStrain energy density function
A strain energy density function or stored energy density function is a scalar valued function that relates the strain energy density of a material to the deformation gradient....
per volume unit, which is the mechanical strain energy for a given temperature.
Remodeling and Growth
Soft tissues have the potential to grow and remodel reacting to chemical and mechanical long term changes. The rate the fibroblasts produce tropocollagen is proportional to these stimuli. Diseases, injuries and changes in the level of mechanical load may induce remodeling. An example of this phenomenon is the thickening of farmer's hands. The remodeling of connective tissues is very know in bones by the Wolff's lawWolff's law
Wolff's law is a theory developed by the German Anatomist/Surgeon Julius Wolff in the 19th century that states that bone in a healthy person or animal will adapt to the loads it is placed under. If loading on a particular bone increases, the bone will remodel itself over time to become stronger...
(bone remodeling
Bone remodeling
Bone remodeling is a lifelong process where mature bone tissue is removed from the skeleton and new bone tissue is formed...
). Mechanobiology
Mechanobiology
Mechanobiology is an emerging field of science at the interface of biology and engineering. It focuses on the way that physical forces and changes in cell or tissue mechanics contribute to development, physiology, and disease...
is the science that study the relation between stress and growth at cellular level.
Growth and remodeling have a major role in the etiology of some common soft tissue diseases, like arterial stenosis
Stenosis
A stenosis is an abnormal narrowing in a blood vessel or other tubular organ or structure.It is also sometimes called a stricture ....
and aneurisms and any soft tissue fibrosis
Fibrosis
Fibrosis is the formation of excess fibrous connective tissue in an organ or tissue in a reparative or reactive process. This is as opposed to formation of fibrous tissue as a normal constituent of an organ or tissue...
. Other instance of tissue remodeling, is the thickening of the cardiac muscle
Cardiac muscle
Cardiac muscle is a type of involuntary striated muscle found in the walls and histologic foundation of the heart, specifically the myocardium. Cardiac muscle is one of three major types of muscle, the others being skeletal and smooth muscle...
in response to the growth of blood pressure
Blood pressure
Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels, and is one of the principal vital signs. When used without further specification, "blood pressure" usually refers to the arterial pressure of the systemic circulation. During each heartbeat, BP varies...
detected by the arterial
Artery
Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart. This blood is normally oxygenated, exceptions made for the pulmonary and umbilical arteries....
wall.
See also
- BiomaterialBiomaterialA biomaterial is any matter, surface, or construct that interacts with biological systems. The development of biomaterials, as a science, is about fifty years old. The study of biomaterials is called biomaterials science. It has experienced steady and strong growth over its history, with many...
- BiomechanicsBiomechanicsBiomechanics is the application of mechanical principles to biological systems, such as humans, animals, plants, organs, and cells. Perhaps one of the best definitions was provided by Herbert Hatze in 1974: "Biomechanics is the study of the structure and function of biological systems by means of...
- RheologyRheologyRheology is the study of the flow of matter, primarily in the liquid state, but also as 'soft solids' or solids under conditions in which they respond with plastic flow rather than deforming elastically in response to an applied force....
- Soft tissue disorderSoft tissue disorderSoft tissue disorders are medical conditions affecting soft tissue.Often soft tissue injuries are some of the most chronically painful and difficult to treat because it is very difficult to see what is going on under the skin with the soft connective tissues, fascia, joints, muscles and...
- Soft tissue sarcomaSoft tissue sarcomaA soft-tissue sarcoma is a form of sarcoma that develops in connective tissue, though the term is sometimes applied to elements of the soft tissue that are not currently considered connective tissue.-Risk factors:...