Which connective tissue is stretchable and forms the subcutaneous layer of the skin?

• A. Dense Regular Connective Tissue
• B. Adipose Tissue
• C. Loose Connective Tissue
• D. Cartilage

Answer: (C)

Stretchable tissue comes from the loose arrangement of fibers and abundant ground substance found in loose connective tissue. In the skin’s subcutaneous layer, also known as the hypodermis, this loose connective tissue (areolar tissue) sits just beneath the dermis and is intermingled with adipose tissue. The loose network of collagen and especially elastic fibers allows the skin to move and stretch over underlying structures, giving flexibility and cushioning. Dense regular connective tissue is too rigid and aligned in one direction, cartilage is firm and not stretchy, and adipose tissue, while present in the subcutaneous layer, does not itself provide the loose, flexible matrix that characterizes this layer.