Mini Case Study: Complete this assignment and upload the completed assignment to canvas.

This
assignment is worth 5 points.

1. Compare pseudostratified columnar epithelium and simple columnar epithelium and answer the
following questions: a) How are these two tissues the same? b) What differentiates
pseudostratified columnar epithelium from simple columnar?
a. These tissues are similar in that all the touch the basement membrane and only form one layer
instead of multiple layers.
b. What separates the tissues is that in pseudostratified epithelium, the columnar cells are not
uniform, as they can vary in size, shape, and height. The nuclei of the cells in pseudostratified
epithelium can also vary in location within the cell while simple columnar cell nuclei are always
found in the same place within each cell. Also all cells do not stretch from the basal to the apical
layer.

2. The bottom (basal) layer of stratified epithelial tissue may have different cell shapes from the top
(apical) layer. Which layer determines the shape classification of the tissue? Provide evidence to
support your answer.
The apical layer determines the shape classification of the tissue because in both stratified squamous
and stratified cuboidal epithelium, only the top layer of these tissues have the named cell type while
other cells beneath the apical layer differ.

3. Name the specific type of epithelial described by the following: a tissue that consists of multiple
layers of cells, in which the top layer is composed of columnar cell.

Stratified Columnar epithelium

4. Using the photomicrographs below, a. label the apical surface on each tissue, b. label the basal
surface on each epithelial tissue, c. draw a bracket to indicate the location of the epithelial tissue,
and d. name the specific epithelial type under both Tissue a and Tissue b.

Apical Apical

Basal

Basal
a. b.
Images courtesy of The University of Kansas

Tissue = Simple Columnar Epithelium Tissue = Stratified Squamous Epithelium

5. The majority of dust is composed of human skin cells. What does this indicate about the rate of
mitosis for epithelial tissue?
It indicates that the rate of mitosis for epithelial tissue is very rapid because human skin often is put
under a lot of stress in the world, such as the sun or scratches. When this happens, the skin cells get
damaged and die, so other skin cells must rapidly reproduce to repair the skin.
6. Epithelial cancers are the most common types of cancer. Answer the following questions
together as a group:
a) Briefly explain what cancer is.

Cancer is a mass of cells that tends to grow abnormally at a rapid rate, draining the host of its
nutrients and causing many health problems.

b) What do you think makes skin so susceptible to uncontrolled cellular growth.

Since skin cells reproduce so often and rapidly, it also has a higher chance to lead to errors in the
mitosis cycle, which could cause cancer to develop and quickly spread.