Epithelial

tissue - overview
Location
- - - First important tissue in the body, beside muscle tissue, nervous tissue and connective tissue. Covers all external surfaces of the body, line all the internal cavities and those tubes that communicate with the exterior, form various organs and glands, and line their ducts. All epithelial tissue are avascular no vessels. Get their nutrition from transport of oxygen and metabolities through the basal lamina.

Basement membrane (BM)

- - -

Vitreous (glasslignende) homogenous membrane (in e.g. trachea) Visible under Light Microscope (LM, under PAS-positive layer) Consist of: o Lamina lucida o Lamina densa Components of Basal lamina o Anchoring fibrils (collagen VII) From basal lamina connect basal lamina with reticular lamina. o Reticular lamina Product of connective tissue ducts. Can be recognized by dark lines in light microscope (LM) Function o Supporting (E.g. covering epithelium) o Barrier to corpuscular material between connective tissue (CT) and other tissues o Necessary for intercellular interactions (e.g. reinnervation of denervated muscle fibres)

Basal lamina
Junction between epithelium and connective tissue - Desmosomes Specialized intercellular junctions between the cells - Hemidesmosome Participate in junction with basal lamina product of epithelium, at the bottom of epithelium Can see tiny white cells between epithelium and basal lamina. This is Lamina lucida. Just under you can se a tiny dark line of cells. This is lamina densa. Together they create the basal lamina. They are a product of epithelial cells.

Classification of epithelial tissue

Can be classified in three ways: 1. Number of cell layers: a. Single layer: Simple epithelium b. Several layers: Stratified epithelium 2. Shape of component cells: a. Squamous Flattened b. Cuboidal Cube-formed c. Columnar Column-shaped i. In stratified epithelia the shape of the outermost layer of cells determines the descriptive classification. 3. Presence of surface specializations Cilia and keratin a. E.g.: the surface of the skin is called stratified squamous keratinizing epithelium i. Consist of many layers of surface cells, they are flattened and covered by the proteinacous material: keratin. Epithelium can me ectoderm, mesoderm or endoderm. Ectoderm Epithelium Mesoderm Endothelium (lining of blood and lymphatic vessels) and mesothelium (the lining of serous (prod. Serum) body cavities)

Principal characteristics of epithelial cells

- - - - Closely adhere to one another by intercellular junctions - Very narrow, but there has to be some space due to exchange of oxygen and nutrition. Polar elements free and apical (pen) surface, protect against environmental influences, lateral surfaces and basal surface. On these various specializations are found. Basal surface connects to the basal lamina. This non-cellular membrane separates epithelia from underlying connective tissue. Have reseptors E.g. for pain

Classification according to their construction

1. Surface (flat) epithelia a. One or more cellular layers lining an external or internal surface of the body i. All covering epithelia 2. Trabecular epithelia a. Cells form interconnecting plates i. Liver ii. Endocrine glands 3. Reticular epithelia (Cytoreticulum) a. A network of stellate (stjerneformede) epithelial reticular (nettverksdannende) attached to each other at the ends of their processes. i. Thymus

Special surfaces on epithelial cells

Different surfaces on their apical or upper surfaces. - These modifications are: o Cilia Motile (capable of motion) structures Found in e.g. uterus tubes, uterus (livmor) and tubes in respiratory system. o Microvilli Small, non-motile projections (utstikkere) Covers all absorptive cells in e.g. the small intestine and proximal convoluted tubules in the kidney. o Stereocilia Long, non-motile branches micvrovilli Covers the cells in the epididymis (bitestikkel) and vas deferens (sdleder) Function of microvilli and stereocilia is absorption optimize absorption through extended areal.

Classification of covering (surface) epithelia and examples

Simple epithelium
Always found at surfaces involved in selective diffusion, absorption and/or secretion. Protect against mechanical abrasion. Differ in three 3D structures: - Squamous o Often found lining surfaces involved in passive transport (diffusion) of either gases (as in lunges) or fluids (as in the walls of blood capillaries) o Flat, endothelium covers: Lining of blood vessels Lymphatic vessels Heart cavity o Mesothelium covers: Lining of body cavities

Cuboidal o Nucleus often round and in center of cell. o Lines small ducts and tubules that may have excretory, secretory or absorptive funcions. o 4-edges, sometimes 6 because structure is not hard or like firm boxes. Choroid plexus (some brain structure) Epithelium of ovary (eggstokk) Subscapular epithelium on the anterior surface of the lens Small ducts of glands

Choroid plexus

Columnar o Nuclei are elongated (langstrakte) and may be located towards the base, the centre or occasionally the apex (toppen) of the cytoplasm. This is known as polarity of the nucleus. o With cilia Oviduct (eggleder) and uterus (livmor)

 o Without cilia Intestine Gallbladder Collecting tubules and papillary ducts in kidney

Jejunum

Duodenum

Stratified epithelium
Means several layers of cells. E.g. in the skin we have hundreds of layers. Stratum = Layers stratified. Only the basal layer of the cells rest on the basement membrane. The other previous cells. Divides into: - Stratified squamous o Basal cells are cuboidal or columnar these cells migrate towards the surface and become squamous. To types: keratinized and non- keratinized. Keratinized Found in exposed surfaces of body such as skin. Non-living, keratinized and filled with the protein keratin. Palm and soles have especially thick layers of keratinized cells. Non-keratinized Superficial layer are living, with a nucleus. Covers moist cavities, such as: mouth, pharynx, esophagus, vagina and anal canal.

Stratisfied squamous non-keratinized epithelium(lip)

Stratisfied squamous keratinized epithelium(lip)

Keratinized stratified squamous epithelium

Stratified cuboidal and stratified columnar o Limited distributed in the body o Thin, stratified epithelium that usually consist of only two or three layers of cuboidal / columnar cells. Line the larger excretory ducts of exocrine glands such as the salivary glands. (spyttkjertler) Line the larger excretory ducts of the pancreas, salivary glands and sweat glands

Duct of sweat gland

Pseudostratified epithelium
Pseudo = Not genuine (gr.) Look like stratified, but are practically simple because all of the cells rest on the basal membrane there are no layers of cells. - Can be distinguished from true stratified epithelia by three characteristics: o Polarity Nuclei is mainly confined to the basal two-thirds of the epithelium. Nuclei is on different various levels. o Cilia are never present on true stratified epithelia. It is present on pseudostratified epithelia. Found exclusively in airways of respiratory system of mammals therefore also called respiratory epithelium o All cells rest on the basal lamina There are no layers of cells.

Transitional epithelium
Only found in urinary tract therefore also called urothelium. Named transitional because its cell structures are somewhere between stratified cuboidal and stratified squamous epithelia (thereof transtitional) Multiple layers of epithelium that can contract and expand. Contracted state - About 4-5 cell layers thick - Basal cells are roughly cuboidal - Intermediate cells are polygonal - Surface cells are shaped as dome cells large, rounded and may contain two nuclei. Stretched state - 2-3 layers thick - Intermediate and surface layers are extremely flattened.

Transitional epithelium (urothelium) Empty urinary bladder

Full urinary bladder

Sources:
- - - - Lectures in histology class www.lfhk.cuni.cz/histologie - also some pictures Weathers Functional Histology (5th edition) diFiores Atlas of Histology (10th edition)