CONNECTIVE TISSUE PROPER DENSE elastic:
• The fibroblasts are embedded in the matrix: they do not lie in lacunae (chambers within the matrix).
• The fibers are densely packed and thus the ground substance is barely visible. The fibers are primary elastic fibers and they give the tissue a yellowish color. Dense elastic connective tissue combines strength with elasticity: it can be stretched very easily and then recoils to its original length as soon as the tension is released. It confers elastic properties which enable recovery of tissue shape following normal physiological deformation or stretching.
• It is found in the vocal cords, in some ligaments (such as the ligamenta flava that connect adjacent vertebrae and the suspensory ligament of penis), in the walls of elastic arteries, in parts of the trachea and bronchi, and in the lung tissue.