Human Physiology 2022

Histology Report Questions

The idea of this exercise is to make you think about the structure-function
relationships. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the tissues in detail, and link what
you observe with what you know about the functions. Make sure you explore the
slides thoroughly in the lab. It is also worth sketching drawings of them, as it makes
you interact with the tissue in a different way.

You do not need to produce a full laboratory report for this practical. Thus, there is
no need for an introduction, materials/methods, results/data nor conclusion
section, as would normally be the case.

As well as the answers to the questions, which should be in your own words, this
submission should have a bibliography, and appropriate crediting of sources of
information (referencing) along the way. In the School of Life Sciences, you need to
use the Harvard Style: https://www.sussex.ac.uk/skills-hub/referencing-and-
academic-integrity/harvard
Furthermore, you should use appropriate sources for academic study. Sites
such as quick-answer sites, as well as encyclopaedias, BBC bitesize, student
forums, or sites like Wikipedia are not acceptable as sources for formal scientific
reference. Lectures, textbooks, peer-reviewed journal articles, etc, are good sources.
This page on the canvas site has some guidance on finding appropriate sources:
https://canvas.sussex.ac.uk/courses/22930/pages/referencing-and-how-to-find-
reliable-information

It is even more important in this time of misinformation and downright fake news
surrounding the pandemic, that we take great care to use proper, validated sources!

Thus, you may well have to read the relevant chapter in the textbooks etc to be able
to answer these questions. Some of the questions are about observation of the
pictures of the slides and so you may not need to reference that part.
If you use sources, but do not reference correctly, you will lose marks. You cannot
assume that something is “common knowledge”, therefore you need to credit your
sources of information. This involves both a bibliography list at the end, and credit
given at appropriate points along the way. See the link to the Harvard system
above.

It is important that, even though you need to credit your sources of information, you
write using your own words: you need to demonstrate your understanding, your
insight and your ability to express yourself about these scientific issues.
You should not need to write more than at most a paragraph or two for each answer.
Indeed, some questions only require a few sentences. However, you should write
proper sentences, not write in note-form.
The Questions:

There are 10 questions, and these questions have two parts: (a) and (b).
Part (b) will be weighted 50% more than part (a).

Check all the questions before attending the practical, and check that you are
comfortable with the pre-lab histology quizzes before attempting these questions.
Some of the questions require observations of the pages with pictures of specific
microscope slides.

(1) Heart muscle tissue contains intercalated discs. Intercalated discs are formed
where two cardiac cells meet. Cardiac cells join end to end to form
a functional fibre. This is fundamentally different from striated muscle where each
fibre is a single unit.
(a) In the practical, try to find an intercalated disc. Then look at these pictures of the
myocardium (they are taken using the same slides as in the practical):
https://canvas.sussex.ac.uk/courses/22930/pages/cardiac-and-leg-muscle-histology-slides
Within cardiac muscle picture 2 (x40, Masson’s Trichrome stain) it is possible to see
an intercalated disc, right in the middle of the picture.
What is the function of the intercalated discs – and as a consequence where are
they located on the cardiac muscle cells?
(b) Why are the intercalated discs crucial to proper cardiac function?

(2) There are different types of muscle in the body: cardiac, skeletal (both striated)
and smooth muscle. When exploring all the slides, you will find representatives of all
three.
(a) Where in the body is smooth muscle found?
On which of the slides of tissues/organs in the practical, is smooth muscle present,
and very clear?
(b) Why is smooth muscle found in these types of organs, and not in, for example,
the big leg or arm muscles, nor the heart?

(3) Examine the slides of the small intestine.

(a) In small intestine, there are several structures protruding into the lumen. These
can be seen in overview at the lowest magnification, and in more detail using the
higher magnification objective lenses.
What are these structures called?
Why are there a significant number of these structures within the small intestine?
(b) Within each of these anatomical structures in part (a), there is an internal
structure. This is not discernible in these pictures, but we covered it in lectures. What
is the internal component and what is its function in the context of absorption?
(4) The small intestine is very long, the oesophagus very short. In the practical, look
at both these organs. In the oesophagus, it is striking how much muscular tissue
there is compared to the overall size.
Both have muscle, but the proportion of the total diameter is much larger for the
oesophagus.
(a) How does this reflect the relative functions of the oesophagus and the small
intestine?
(b) While there are numerous sections in the small intestine, the oesophagus only
really has one. What structure is found at the end of the oesophagus, acting as a
gateway to the stomach, the next part of the digestive tract? What problems can
occur if this structure does not function properly – and why?

(5) In the kidneys, there are two main, different areas: the medulla and the cortex.
(a) In the cortex, what is the difference between the glomerulus and the Bowman’s
capsule? Together, what is their function?
(b) Loops of Henle are found in the medulla. What is their function and why is it
crucial that these structures are in the medulla?

(6) In the kidneys, there are two main areas: the medulla and the cortex.
Look at the pictures of the kidney:
https://canvas.sussex.ac.uk/courses/22930/pages/kidney-and-lung-tissue-histology-
slides
(a) Identify a renal corpuscle in one of the kidney pictures taken using the x40
objective lens. Copy the picture, show on it where the renal corpuscle is within the
picture. Then paste it into your answer.
N.B. include the stain used to produce the slide, and the number of the picture as
given on the page
(b) The collecting ducts travel through the medulla of the kidneys and combine to
become the ureter, heading to the bladder. Under what circumstances can the
collecting ducts contribute to the production of hypertonic urine? Relate this to your
answer to question 5 (b).

(7) In the practical, explore the lung tissue to familiarise yourself with it. It is quite
“messy”, so can take a little while to get your bearings.
Look at the pictures of slides with lung tissue on canvas
https://canvas.sussex.ac.uk/courses/22930/pages/kidney-and-lung-tissue-histology-
slides
There are two sets, one set stained with Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E), the other
with Masson’s Trichrome. As you can see, there are lots of “gaps” in the tissue.
(a) Look at lung picture 2 and lung picture 5. There are plenty of gaps, and in picture
5, some of these look really different to others. Choose one of these pictures (lung
picture 2 or lung picture 5), copy it, indicate where several alveoli can be seen in the
picture and paste it into your answer.
How do these alveolar structures seen in the picture relate to lung function?
(b) Here is a copy of a section of lung picture 4

Explain what the structure within the black sphere is – and the structure within the
blue rectangle (with pink dots).
What are these structures? And how do their function(s) differ from the ones focused
on for part (a) of this question, i.e. how do they relate to lung function?

(8) The liver is a large, very active organ, with many, many functions. One of these
important functions is to produce bile.
(a) What is the role of bile? Which structures in the liver function as gathering points
for bile, which then travels to which other organ for storage and eventual release into
the duodenum?
Include a copy of a picture using the x10 objective lens from the canvas page with
the structure indicated pasted into your answer. (also include which #picture it is and
which stain was used to view this slice).
(b) Explain one of the synthesis functions of the liver, one of the transformation
functions of the liver, and one of the storage functions of the liver. In each case,
indicate why it is important for the organism. (the production of bile can not be one
of these functions)

(9) Look at the slides of pancreas on the canvas site:

https://canvas.sussex.ac.uk/courses/22930/pages/pancreas-and-liver-slides-for-histology
(a) Compare pancreas pictures 3 and 6. These are taken using the same objective
lens (x40), and are both of a similar area of pancreas, but using different stains.
In each case, identify an islet of Langerhans, and copy the pictures and point out
where it is in each one. Paste this into your answer
(b) Looking at the same two pictures, what crucial pancreatic structures other than
the islets are present? Of the ones used for the pictures on the canvas page, which
stain shows these other structures best? What does the difference in clarity highlight
about the use of stains?

(10) When you look at the pictures of the slides, you will notice that for each one, it
tells you which objective lens was used when taking the picture. From going through
the pre-lab quizzes, you should know that there is also a lens in the eyepiece.
(a) Therefore, when looking down the microscope while using the x40 objective lens,
what is the total magnification that reaches your eye?
(b) Why did the tissues have to undergo such extensive staining procedures?