Muscle tissue

Muscle tissue is made of "excitable" cells that are capable of contraction. Of all of the different tissue types, muscle tissue is the most abundant in most animals.

Muscle tissue has an ability to relax and contrast and so bring about movement and mechanical work in various parts of the body.
Cardiac muscle is so named because it is found in the heart.

Cardiac muscle tissue forms the bulk of the wall of the heart. It is striated (the muscle fibres contain alternating light and dark bands (striations) that are perpendicular to the long axes of the fibres). Unlike skeletal muscle tissue, its contraction is usually not under conscious control (involuntary).

Cells are joined to one another by intercalated discs which allow the synchronization of the heart beat. Cardiac muscle is branched, striated muscle.

Skeletal muscle, which is attached to bones by tendons, is associated with the body's voluntary movements. Skeletal muscle is striated muscle. Unlike cardiac muscle, the cells are not branched. Visceral (Smooth) Muscle

Smooth muscle fibres are usually involuntary (not under conscious control), and they are non striated (smooth). Smooth muscle tissue, like skeletal and cardiac muscle tissue, can undergo hypertrophy.
Visceral muscle, is found in various parts of the body such as the arteries, the bladder, the digestive tract, as well as in many other organs. Visceral muscle is also called smooth muscle because it doesn't have cross striations. Visceral muscle contracts slower than skeletal muscle, but the contraction can be sustained over a longer period of time.

Nervous tissue
Nervous tissue is responsible for sensing stimuli and transmitting signals to and from different parts of an organism. Neurons are the basic unit of nervous tissue. As we have previously discussed, structure and function are very much intertwined within biology and the structure of a neuron is uniquely suited to its function within nervous tissue.

Connective tissue As the name implies, connective tissue serves a "connecting" function. It supports and binds other tissues. Unlike epithelial tissue, connective tissue typically has cells scattered throughout an extracellular matrix. Cartilage Cartilage is a form of fibrous connective tissue that is composed of closely packed collagenous fibers in a rubbery gelatinous substance called chondrin. The skeletons of sharks and human embryos are composed of cartilage. Cartilage also provides flexible support for certain structures in adult humans including the nose, trachea and ears. Bone Bone is a type of mineralized connective tissue that contains collagen and calcium phosphate, a mineral crystal. Calcium phosphate gives bone its firmness. Blood Interestingly enough, blood is considered to be a type of connective tissue. Even though it has a different function in comparison to other connective tissues it does have an extracellular matrix. The matrix is the plasma and erythrocytes, leukocytes and platelets are suspended in the plasma.