Yellow elastic fibers are bundles of elastin, a protein found in connective tissue. Elastin is composed of simple amino acids which include glycine, alanine, valine and proline. Elastin is produced by the fibroblast cells -- the most common cells of connective tissue and widely distributed throughout the structure of yellow elastic fibers.
Loose connective tissue is found almost everywhere in your body. If your body has a free space, loose connective tissue will fill it. According to Nippon Dental University, Japan, elastic fibers are widely distributed in human face skin. The tissue is also found in lungs, walls of arteries, tracheas and veins.
Yellow elastic fibers serve a slightly different function in that they provide elasticity to the tissue. Elastic fibers can stretch up to 1.5 times their length. They allow the tissue to be stretched and then return to its original shape. Elastic tissue also helps in the formation of ligaments, a structure which attaches bones to bones.
Loss of elastic tissue from the localized areas of wrinkled or flaccid skin can result in a cutaneous disease called anetoderma. The main cause of anetoderma is a bacterial infection that produces enzymes that destroy elastic tissue.