Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Harvard Medical School
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
VA Boston Healthcare System
2.79J/3.96J/BE.441/HST522J
TISSUE TYPES
M. Spector, Ph.D. and I.V. Yannas, Ph.D.
The Cell and Its Membrane Molecules
Viewing Histological Sections
Effects of the Plane of Sectioning
TISSUE CLASSIFICATION
Connective Tissue
Epithelia
Muscle
Nerve
TISSUE CLASSIFICATION
Connective Tissue
Epithelia
Muscle
Nerve
Matrix and cell continuous
Cell continuous
Cells surrounded by basal
lamina (basement membrane)
Connective Tissue
Images removed due to copyright considerations.
Sketches from AB McNaught and R Callander, Illustrated
Physiology. 2
nd
ed. Baltimore MD: Williams and Wilkins, 1967.
Connective Tissues
Image removed due to copyright considerations.
See http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/histo/connective/connective.html.
Loose and dense connective tissue from a cow's planum.
Dense Connective Tissue
Loose Connective Tissue
Images removed due to copyright considerations.
See Netter, F. H. The Ciba collection of medical illustrations:
a compilation of pathological and anatomical paintings.
Summit, N.J.: Ciba Pharmaceutical Products, 1987.
Connective Tissue
Adipose Tissue (Fat)
Bone
Images removed due to copyright considerations.
Connective Tissue: Cartilage
Images removed due to copyright considerations.
See Netter, F. H. The Ciba collection of medical illustrations:
a compilation of pathological and anatomical paintings.
Summit, N.J.: Ciba Pharmaceutical Products, 1987.
http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/histo/cartilage/cartilage.html
Connective Tissue: Cartilage
Hyaline Cartilage: Trachea
Elastic Cartilage: Epiglottus
Images removed due to copyright considerations.
See http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/histo/cartilage/cartilage.html.
Fibrocartilage
Epithelia
Images removed due to copyright considerations.
See Netter, F. H. The Ciba collection of medical illustrations:
a compilation of pathological and anatomical paintings.
Summit, N.J.: Ciba Pharmaceutical Products, 1987.
http://www.uoguelph.ca/zoology/devobio/210labs/epithelial1.html
Simple Squamous Epithelium
(chick blastodisc at about 33 hours of incubation )
Top View
Cross-Sectional View
Simple squamous epithelium, which generally occurs as a thin sheet-like layer
allowing for minimal resistance to diffusion, is also been called "pavement”
epithelium, because it can look like like paving stones as seen from above.
Examples include the linings of the peritoneal, pleural and pericardial
cavities. Other places simple squamous epithelium can be found include: the
glomerulus of the kidney, the walls of capillaries, and the alveoli of the lungs.
http://www.uoguelph.ca/zoology/devobio/210labs/epithelial1.html
Simple Cuboidal Epithelium
(collecting ducts in the medulla of a mammalian kidney)
This type of epithelium is thicker than simple simple squamous
epithelium, so it does not allow for passive diffusion as readily.
http://www.uoguelph.ca/zoology/devobio/210labs/epithelial1.html
Simple Columnar Epithelium
(small intestine)
Since columnar cells are quite thick, they do not readily allow passive diffusion. As a
result, these cells use active transport to move nutrients through them from the
intestine to the blood. This is what we commonly call "absorption." To help with this,
they have numerous microvilli on their apical (lumenal) surface, which increases their
surface area to allow for greater absorption.
Simple Columnar Epithelium
Image removed due to copyright considerations.
See http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/histo/epithelium/epithelium.html.
This is a section through the edge of a gallbladder. There is a layer of simple
columnar epithelium overlying the connective tissue as indicated by the arrows.
Epithelia
Images removed due to copyright considerations.
See Netter, F. H. The Ciba collection of medical illustrations:
a compilation of pathological and anatomical paintings.
Summit, N.J.: Ciba Pharmaceutical Products, 1987.
Stratified Squamous Epithelium
Image removed due to copyright considerations.
See http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/histo/epithelium/epithelium.html.
This is an example of stratified squamous epithelium from the esophagus of a
cat. Arrows show nuclei of the outermost layer. This is normal for mucosa.
Most stratified squamous cells in other areas, such as skin, lose their nuclei by
the time they approach the outermost layers.
http://www.uoguelph.ca/zoology/devobio/210labs/epithelial1.html
Stratified Squamous Epithelium
(epidermis)
The cells of the basal layer of the epidermis (closest to the dermis) are cuboidal to
columnar in shape. These cells are actively mitotic, producing new cells that get pushed
upward into the overlying layers. As these cells are pushed up, they become flatter and
longer taking on the typical squamous shape. When the cells reach the top, they are
sloughed off and replaced by cells from below. The dermis which underlies the epidermis
is composed of a dense, irregular connective tissue, which we will see again later.
Muscle
Images removed due to copyright considerations.
1. Smooth muscle
2. Cardiac muscle
3. Voluntary muscle fiber.
See Netter, F. H. The Ciba collection of medical illustrations:
a compilation of pathological and anatomical paintings.
Summit, N.J.: Ciba Pharmaceutical Products, 1987.
http://www.uoguelph.ca/zoology/devobio/210labs/epithelial1.html
Muscle
Striated (Skeletal; Vountary) MuscleSmooth (Involuntary) Muscle
Cardiac Muscle
Skeletal Muscle
Images removed due to copyright considerations.
See Netter, F. H. The Ciba collection of medical illustrations:
a compilation of pathological and anatomical paintings.
Summit, N.J.: Ciba Pharmaceutical Products, 1987.
Nerve
Images removed due to copyright considerations.
See Netter, F. H. The Ciba collection of medical illustrations:
a compilation of pathological and anatomical paintings.
Summit, N.J.: Ciba Pharmaceutical Products, 1987.
http://www.uoguelph.ca/zoology/devobio/210labs/epithelial1.html
Nerve
An isolated nerve cell - neuron (large arrow) - from a mammalian spinal cord
showing and the nuclei of the surrounding neuroglial cells (small arrows).
Note the numerous cytoplasmic extensions emanating from the neuronal cell
body and the size of the neuron compared with the neuroglial cells.
http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/histo/nerves/nerves.html
Nerve
Image removed due to copyright considerations.
This is a myelinated nerve from the thoracic wall. A indicates
the myelin sheath around the actual nerve fibers (B).
http://www.uoguelph.ca/zoology/devobio/210labs/epithelial1.html
Connective Tissue
Adipose (fat)
Bone
Cartilage
Loose Connective Tissue
http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/histo/epithelium/epithelium.html
Pseudostratified Columnar Epithelium
Image removed due to copyright considerations.
This is an example of ciliated pseudostratified columnar epithelium from the
trachea. The arrows indicate the layer of cilia on the surface of the
pseudostratified columnar cell layer.