Connective tissue, as its name indicates, links the cells and organs of the body together.

Muscle tissue contracts powerfully when aroused, giving movement.

Nervous tissue is also excitable, allowing for the creation and transmission of electrochemical signals in the form of nerve impulses that communicate between various parts of the body.

Differences in Characteristics

EPITHELIAL TISSUES
Features – high cellularity, special sensory receptors, forms a barrier, avascular, innervated
Surfaces – basal (hemidesmosomes, basement membrane), apical (lumen, microvilli, cilia, stereocilia), lateral (adhering junctions, tight junctions, desmosomes, gap junctions.
Types – squamous, cuboidal, columnar, simple, stratified, pseudostratified, specialized

CONNECTIVE TISSUES
Structure – cells (structural, immunological, defense, energy reservoirs), extracellular matrix (ground substance, protein fibers)
Types of fibers – collagen, reticular, elastic
Classification – proper (dense, loose), embryonic (mesenchyme, mucous), specialized (cartilage, adipose, bone, blood)

MUSCLE TISSUE
Features – elastic, extensible, contractile
Types – skeletal, cardiac (gap junctions, intercalated discs), smooth, striated, nonstriated

NERVOUS TISSUE
Neurons – soma, dendrites, axons, ganglia (PNS), nuclei (CNS)
Glia – astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, Schwann cells, microglia – blood-brain barrier

SOURCES:
Kenhub. (2016, September 29). Tissue types. Kenhub; Kenhub. https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/introduction-to-tissues-epithelial-connective-muscle-and-nervous-tissue

Biga, L. M., Dawson, S., Harwell, A., Hopkins, R., Kaufmann, J., LeMaster, M., Matern, P., Morrison-Graham, K., Quick, D., & Runyeon, J. (2012). 4.1 Types of Tissues. Oregonstate.education; OpenStax/Oregon State University. https://open.oregonstate.education/aandp/chapter/4-1-types-of-tissues/