Question
5.0 Bone marrow contains stem cells. 5.1 Explain why bone marrow can be called a tissue.
Answer
4.4
(129 Votes)
Jenson
Master · Tutor for 5 years
Answer
Bone marrow can be called a tissue because it is made up of similar cells (erythrocytes, leukocytes, thrombocytes, and stem cells) that harmoniously work together to perform the specialized and specific function of producing blood cells. Furthermore, the cells of the bone marrow share a common embryonic origin which further qualifies bone marrow as a tissue.
Explanation
A tissue can be essentially defined as a group of similar cells working together for a specific task and they tend to share a common embryonic origin. Below, let us check if bone marrow satisfies these two conditions: 1. Bone marrow does indeed contain a group of similar cells. It is made up of a soft and typically spongy tissue that is located inside the cavities of bones. Within the bone marrow there exists erythrocytes (red blood cells), leukocytes (white blood cells) and thrombocytes (platelets), and their stem cell precursors. 2. Bone marrow cells share a common embryonic origin. It is derived embryologically from reticular endothelial/mezenchymal cells which contribute one common stem cell— hemocytoblast.Provided these two main connections, bone marrow does satisfy all the conditions of being terámed a tissue.