Which tissue is a liquid connective tissue that transports nutrients and wastes throughout the body?

• A. Bone
• B. Cartilage
• C. Blood and lymph
• D. Tendon

Answer: (C)

In connective tissues, some have a liquid matrix that carries substances through the body. Blood and lymph are the liquid connective tissues. Blood has plasma as its extracellular fluid with cells suspended in it; it delivers nutrients absorbed from the digestive system to tissues, carries oxygen, and transports wastes and carbon dioxide to organs for disposal, along with hormones and other signals. Lymph is a fluid carried by the lymphatic system that drains interstitial fluid, transports immune cells, and helps move fats from the digestive tract; both act as circulating media, moving materials where they’re needed or removed.

The other options are not liquids: bone has a mineralized, rigid matrix; cartilage is firm and avascular, supporting structures but not serving as a circulating transport medium; tendons are dense, fibrous tissues that transmit mechanical force rather than move substances through the body. So the tissue that fits as a liquid connective tissue that transports nutrients and wastes is blood and lymph.