They knew that the brain develops as a tube, with precursor cells within the tube dividing to give rise to offspring neurons, which then migrate outward in all directions along underlying connective fibers.

The Greeks of Alexandria in Julius Caesar's time recognized that the tendons themselves were tough connective fibers, whereas other strings were comparatively fragile and fatty rather than connective.

Cube steak has had the connective fibers that make the meat tough physically broken by the butcher and the braising process further breaks down the connective tissue in the meat.

They chewed up the connective fibers, leaving just this heavy venous stuff.

Dr. Stefan Jung, a senior scientist at Infineon's Emerging Technologies Laboratory in Munich, said that the connective fibers in the jacket are lightweight bundles of hair-thin copper wires coated with silver and polyester and connected to a tiny microcontroller sealed in plastic.

During that period, two featureless buds of tissue are meant to come together, one bud built of so-called epithelial cells - the type that line the organs and form the skin - and the second composed of mesenchymal cells, which make up the body's bone, connective fibers, ligaments and other tissues.

Ligaments are strong, tough, ropelike connective fibers.