Question 5 (20 pts) This question is in part based on your Reading \"Adipose Tis

Question

Question 5 (20 pts) This question is in part based on your Reading "Adipose Tissue". Adipose Tissue "Fat") has certainly gotten a bad rap in the news in the last few years as the obesity epidemic has swept the US. However, as the Reading "Adipose Tissue" illustrates, fat plays many important and divergent functions in our body. (I) Briefly (one sentence each) describe one function each for the three types of adipose tissue identify in your Reading and explain where that type of adipose tissue would be located in the body. (II) Describe what makes the newly discovered "brown-like adipocytes" different from white and brown fat. (III) In the context of obesity, explain why an abundance of white adipose tissue may impede thermoregulation (this goes beyond the straight lectures). Feel free to reference your reading assignment but avoid extensive quotes - they are bad style and will not be considered part of "your" answer paraphrase and cite instead (see your Plagiarism Exercise to see the difference between quoting and paraphrasing)

Explanation / Answer

1] Adipose tissues have been divided into three types by the presence of the type of fiber in the matrix. These fibers are secreted by the fixed cells and are of the following 3 types- collagenous, elastic and reticular.

Basically, the three types of adipose tissues and their location and function are -

a] White adipose tissue- They have a single large fat droplet in their cells. It acts as an energy store and also as thermal insulators, helping to maintain body temperature.

It is found in the hypodermis of skin, around organs as fat deposits, behind eye-balls and also in yellow bone-marrow.

b] Brown connective tissue -- Act as thermoregulators. They are abundant in infants but are slowly replaced by white c.t. as the individual grows in age. In infants, brown c.t. are found around the pancreas, kidneys, and pancreas and also around the pericardium, interscapular, supraclavicular and suprarenal organs.

In adults, the brown c.t. is found in locations such as between the shoulder blades, around the kidneys, neck and along the spinal cord.

c] Brown and white fat or Beige fat --- It is distributed among all the adipose tissue and acts as an energy store and heat provider for the body. It also acts as a cushion for various organs around which it is found.

II] Brown and white fat is dispersed throughout the adipose tissue. In brown fat tissues, the presence of iron-rich mitochondria gives them the brown color. The lipid droplets are smaller in size than that present in white c.t. but their number is more. In white c.t. generally, a single large fat droplet is present.

White and brown fat tissues have greater variability in lipid droplet size. The proportion of lipid droplets is greater than that of mitochondria and this is what gives it a light brown appearance.

III] White adipose tissues are generally deposited under the skin and form a fat layer. This fatty layer plays a very important role in animals living in extremely cold regions because it acts as an insulator by preventing the body heat to escape. So, its main function is to keep the body warm and provide energy.

So, excess deposite of white fat in the body will hamper the process of thermoregulation as it will not allow the body heat to escape in the surroundings. Rather, it will trap the body heat and tend to keep the body warm.

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