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BJECTIVES

Upon completing this section,you will be able to:1.Define the word

histology.

2.Name and briefly describe the

four

basic types of tissue.3.Name the

three

subtypes of simple epithelial tissue.4.List the

five

main subtypes of connective tissue.5.Name the

three

subtypes of muscle tissue.6.Name the

two

types of nerve tissue.

Section 6

Types of Tissue

ISTOLOGY

Histology is the microscopic study of cells,tissues,and organs. Also called microscope anatomy,his-tology has two basic classes:1)

normal histology

—the study of normal tissues,and 2)

pathologic his-tology

—the study of diseased tissue. Malignanciesare diagnosed according to the pattern of cellulargrowth and deviations of individual cells from theirnormal forms.Nurses involved with the treatment of malignanciesmust possess a knowledge of histology in orderto understand the anatomy and classification of tumors. In this section,we will review the four basictypes of tissue,their functions and locations,and theterms used to describe these tissues—terms such assquamous,stratified,cuboidal,columnar,and others.We are interested in the types of normal body tis-sue for two reasons:1) cancers are named accord-ing to the cells and tissues from which they arise,and you should be familiar with these names,and2) different histologic types of cancers have differ-ent responses to chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Basic Types of Tissue

There are

four

basic types of tissue:1) epithelialtissue,2) connective tissue (blood,bone,cartilage)muscle tissue,and 4) nerve tissue. The primary tis-sues are divided into subtypes,which we will dis-cuss shortly.Each tissue type is designed to perform a specificfunction. For instance,nerve tissue conducts nerveimpulses,muscle tissues are contractile,andepithelial tissues cover body parts.Tissues differ in several ways:1) according to thesize,shape,and arrangement of their cells; 2)according to the kind or intercellular substance;and 3) according to location and function.

PITHELIAL

ISSUE

Epithelial tissue

covers or lines all body surfacesinside and outside the body. Examples of epithelialtissue are the skin and the mucosa and serosa thatline the body cavities and internal organs,such asintestines,urinary bladder,uterus,etc. In somecases,epithelial tissue extends into deeper tissuelayers to form glands,such as mucus-secretingglands. The term

carcinoma

is reserved for malig-nant growth arising from epithelial cells.Epithelial cells are tightly packed together insheets and have very little intercellular materialbetween them. Securing the epithelium to theunderlying connective tissue is a membrane calledthe

basement membrane

. Since epithelial tissuehas no blood vessels,it receives nourishment fromnutrients that diffuse from blood vessels in theunderlying connective tissue. Dead and injuredepithelial cells are constantly being replaced bynew cells.Epithelial tissue always has a free surface exposedto the outside (eg,skin) or to an open space inter-nally (eg,the uterus). Epithelial tissue is concernedwith protection,secretion,absorption,and filtra-tion. For example,the surface layer of the skin,the

epidermis,

has tightly packed epithelial cells and

protects

the body from the elements; epithelialcells in glands

secrete

various liquids; epithelialcells in the small intestine

absorb

nutrients into thebloodstream,and so on.Epithelial tissue may be a single layer thick or sev-eral cell layers thick,as shown in Figure 15.The cell layers are arranged in thin sheets,calledmembranes,that are firmly attached to the under-lying connective tissue by a permeable basementmembrane.Epithelial tissue is classified into subtypes,accord-ing to the shape,arrangement,and function of cells. For instance,an epithelial membrane com-posed of single layers of cell is called

simple

;those several cell layers thick are called stratified.Thin,flat epithelial cells are called

squamous

(plate-like); cube-like cells are called

cuboidal

; and tall,column-like cells are called

columnar.

Section 6

Types of Tissue

These cell types are explained in more detail below.

■

Simple squamous epithelium

is composed of asingle layer of thin,flattened cells closely fittedtogether. lt is found on the surface of the skin(where it is called

epidermis

). Some substanceseasily pass through simple squamous epithelia.

■

Simple cuboidal epithelium

is composed of a sin-gle layer of lightly packed cube-shaped cells. Itcovers the ovaries,lines a portion of the kidneytubules,and lines the ducts of such glands andorgans as the thyroid gland,salivary glands,liver,and pancreas.

■

Simple columnar epithelium

is composed of tall,slender cells. These elongated cells are found lin-ing the intestine,the gallbladder,the Fallopiantubes,and some of the respiratory passages.Scattered among the columnar cells are cellscalled goblet cells,which secrete mucus onto thesurface of the tissue.

■

Pseudostratified columnar epithelium

is sonamed because it seems to be arranged in severallayers,when in reality it is but a single layerthick. As shown in Figure 15,all cells adhere to abasement membrane,but not all of them reachthe surface,thus accounting for the “false”

Figure 15.Types of epithelial cells.

PseudostratifiedCiliaGoblet cellGoblet cellBasement membraneSimple columnarSimple squamousStratified squamousGlandularSimple cuboidal