Hard tissue is tissue that has hardened and provides support and protection.
Your body contains a number of different kinds of tissue, and all are a collection of similar cells and substances between those cells. Hard tissue refers to tissue that has become firm and works in your body as support and protection mechanisms. These include your bones, teeth and enamel.
Hard Tissue Biology
Hard tissue is tissue that has become mineralized. It's a collection of cells and related matter that has become firm, hardened or rigid. In people, hard tissue typically refers to cartilage, bones and teeth. In addition to being studied in health and medical education, hard tissue is also the focus of human evolutionary sciences, which seek to answer questions about how anatomy informs human development. Hard tissue is a kind of connective tissue, which is one of four basic kinds of tissue all people have. Other types are the epithelium, muscle and nerve tissue.
Bones
Bone is a type of hard tissue. Essentially, it's a specialized form of connective tissue and is the main component of your skeletal system. Unlike other connective tissue, bone is hard tissue that becomes calcified. Overall, the purpose of hard bone tissue is to provide internal support for your body and offer a place for muscles and tendons to attach so that you can move. Bone tissue also protects your organs: the skull for your brain, the ribs for your heart and lungs. Like other connective tissue, bone is active and dynamic, and it plays a role in many metabolic functions. It's not just dead tissue holding you upright. It gets remodeled, reorganized, re-formed and resorbed your entire life.
Teeth and Enamel
Hard tissue also encompasses dental tissue: teeth and enamel. You start out with deciduous, or baby teeth, which is an important part of the development of your entire oral cavity. Your permanent teeth erupt from the same source as the baby teeth, and like other hard tissue, they perform important functions in connection with your jaw bones and other tissues for speaking and eating. Teeth have two parts: the crown, which is enamel, or hard tissue that erupts within your mouth; as well as the dentin, the hard tissue that comprises the root and anchors your teeth in your jaw. The mineralization density of enamel is much higher than that of dentin and bone.
Craniofacial Tissue
Of the 206 bones that make up the human body, 22 lie in your head. Eight are in your skull, and 14 bones are behind your face. In addition to protecting your brain, your cranial hard tissue stabilizes the position of the brain along with blood vessels and nerve tissue. The outer surfaces, such as other bones, attach to muscles so that you can move your head. These bones also provide protection and support for organs such as your eyes, mouth and nose and ears. So in a sense, hard tissue protects your ability to see, taste, smell and hear. Craniofacial tissue also provide a framework for your face and supports the structures that lead processes such as digestion and respiration, as well as give you the ability to make facial expressions to communicate.
Tags: tissue that, connective tissue, tissue also, hard tissue, hard tissue that
