Cells & Tissues

(LS1151 & SM0030)

Notes on histology lectures
The following notes are provided as an ‘aide memoir’ for the material covered
during the histology lectures. The notes are not exhaustive and should not be
regarded as a substitute for attending lectures. Students are encouraged to
spend at least one hour of self study for every hour in the class; this time
should be used to add further details to the notes and more importantly
understanding what you read and write. It is wrong to think that the
university education is only about passing exams, it is about developing a life
long passion for ‘Learning by Studying Yourself’ (i.e. less and less
dependence on others to teach you). Remember that ‘A pupil must be taught
but a student teaches himself’.

Histology Lecture 1
Histology is the study of tissues: in our case, it means study of tissues which
make up the human body. Tissue is defined as a group of cells which perform
a common function. All the cells in a given tissue are not necessarily identical
or similar e.g. blood is a type of connective tissue but it has many different
types of cells. However, tissue also contains two other components i.e.
ground substance (or matrix) and fibres.

Despite the complexity of the human body and the diversity of organs it
contains; there are only four tissues called basic or principal tissues - these
are epithelium, connective tissue, muscle and nerve tissue.

The following paragraphs describe the main structural features, functions and
sub-divisions of each type of tissue.

EPITHELIUM

Epithelium is characterised by closely packed cells and has very little extra-
cellular material (ground substance or fibres). Cells are held together by
means of desmosomes and tight junctions and form continuous sheets or
layers which either cover the body’s outer surface (skin) or internally line
various body cavities and vessels. Epithelial cells rest on a basement
membrane which separates them from other tissues. Epithelium continues to
regenerate throughout life, making it particularly susceptible to disorders of
cellular growth such as cancer (90% of all human cancers are epithelial in
origin).
Epithelium is classified on the basis of two criteria

(i) Cell shape: epithelial cells can be squamous (thin and flat, spread out flat
like a fried egg), cuboidal (cell height = cell width) and columnar (shaped like
a brick).

(ii) Number of layer of cells: epithelium which is formed by only one layer of
cells is called simple epithelium; if two or more layers of cells are present, it is
known as stratified epithelium.

Below is a list of common types of simple and stratified epithelia and their
location(s) in the human body. Students are strongly encouraged to link the
structure with the function and think why a particular type of epithelium is
present in a given organ and how its structure enables it to carry out the
functions it performs.

Type of epithelial tissue Location

Simple squamous epithelium Alveoli (air sacs) in the lungs and the
inner lining of the vessels
Simple cuboidal epithelium Kidney tubules
Simple columnar epithelium Inner lining of the stomach and the
intestine
Simple columnar ciliated epithelium Fallopian tube
Stratified squamous epithelium Mouth, throat and oesophagus
Stratified squamous keratinised Skin
epithelium
Transitional epithelium Urinary bladder

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Histology Lecture 2
CONNECTIVE TISSUE

Connective tissue (CT) is the supporting, binding and packaging tissue of the
body; it consists of (a) ground substance (b) fibres and (c) cells. The
characteristic feature of connective tissue is that it contains relatively few cells
but an abundance of extra cellular material (i.e. fibres and ground substance).
Remember that the opposite is true in case of the epithelium.

Ground substance (also called matrix) fills the spaces between cells and
fibres. It is an amorphous (unstructured) material and is composed of tissue
fluid, cell adhesion proteins (e.g. fibronectin, anchorin & laminin) and large
molecules known as proteoglycans. Proteoglycans are shaped like a bottle
brush: they have a central protein core, to which are attached
GlycosAminoGlycanS (GAGS) molecules. Examples of GAGS include
hyaluronic acid, keratan sulphate and condroitin sulphate; GAGS hold water
and are responsible for the consistency (hardness or pliability) of connective
tissue matrix.

CT fibres are responsible for providing strength and support. They are
produced by fibroblasts and are of the following three types.

Collagen fibres are the commonest type and consist of tropocollagen

molecules. They are very strong and usually arranged in the form of bundles.

Reticular fibres are very fine and thread like. They are actually immature
collagen fibres which form networks to support blood vessels or other soft
organs.

Elastic fibres are made up of a protein called elastin. They form flexible
networks in skin, lungs and blood vessels.

Following types of cells are present in connective tissue.

Fibroblasts have oval nuclei and branching cytoplasmic processes. Their

function is to synthesise the connective tissue fibres mentioned above.

Macrophages are capable of amoeboid movement and can engulf bacteria,

other foreign particles and cellular debris. They are irregular in form; their
appearance depends on the type and amount of ingested material.

Plasma cells produce antibodies and have a characteristic cart-wheel shaped

nucleus.

Mast cells are small and oval shaped. They have granules in their cytoplasm.
These granules contain pharmacologically active substances such as heparin
(anti-coagulant) and histamine (vasodilator and increases capillary
permeability).
Types of Connective Tissue

Connective tissue is divided into two types 1) Ordinary CT and 2) Specialised

CT.

Ordinary CT is further subdivided into

i) Loose or areolar CT in which the fibres are loosely woven and cells
are wide apart – hence the name. It is found under the skin and
around blood vessels.

ii) Adipose CT is similar to areolar CT, but a large majority of cells in this
tissue are fat cells which are filled with a fat droplet which occupies
most of the volume of the cell.

iii) Dense CT has more fibres which are densely packed, hence the name.
If the fibres are arranged in a regular manner, the connective tissue
is called dense regular CT. Examples include ligaments and
tendons.

If the fibres are randomly orientated, the connective tissue is known

as the irregular dense CT. This variety is present in the capsule
joints and some organs such as the spleen and lymph nodes.

Specialised connective tissue is comprised of i) supporting elements i.e.

cartilage and bone and ii) blood.

Cartilage is connective tissue consisting of cells and fibres embedded in a

resilient matrix. It is avascular and heals slowly after injury. Cells of the
cartilage are called chondrocytes and they lie in small holes called lacunae.
Cartilage is of three types, depending on the proportion of collagen and elastic
fibres it contains. Hyaline cartilage is the commonest type. It is compressible
and is present at the ends of long bones. It contains large amounts of
collagen fibres which have the same refractive index as the matrix. As a
result, the fibres are not readily visible, hence the name hyaline which means
glass. Elastic cartilage is more flexible than other types because it contains a
network of elastic fibres. It quickly recovers its shape after distortion and is
located in the external ear, larynx and the epiglottis. Fibrous cartilage is
constructed by alternative layers of hyaline cartilage and collagen fibres and is
found in intervertebral discs.

Bone is connective tissue made up of cells embedded in a firm, calcified

matrix. About 30% of matrix is composed of organic material such as collagen
fibres and bone cells, while 70% is inorganic bone salts e.g. Ca, Na and P.

Bone is of two types; compact and spongy:

Compact bone is composed of concentric layers of ossified matrix, known as
lamellae. Lamellae surround a central canal called Haversian canal. A set of
lamellae together with the central canal is termed Haversian System or
Osteon. Interspersed between the lamellae are numerous spaces or lacunae
containing living bone cells or osteocytes. Radiating from each lacuna are fine
channels, called canaliculi, which are occupied by the cytoplasmic processes
of osteocytes. In this way, osteocytes not only communicate with each other
but are also able to exchange nutrients and other molecules. Dense CT layer
which surrounds the bone is called periostium.

Spongy bone is less organised than compact bone. It consists of a meshwork

of thin inter-connecting struts called trabeculae. Trabeculae are a few cells
thick and consist of irregularly arranged lamellae. The spaces between the
trabeculae are filled with bone marrow. Spongy bone is present deep inside
most bones (which have an outer layer of compact bone on the external
surface).

Blood is a unique connective tissue and consists of blood cells, matrix (which
in this case is called plasma) and fibres (which are in the form of soluble
proteins dissolved in the plasma; these become noticeable when blood clots).
Blood does not function like other types of connective tissue i.e. it does not
support or connect other tissues. However, blood is a vehicle which carries
nutrients and respiratory gases to body tissues and back to the heart.
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Histology – Lecture 3
MUSCLE TISSUE
Muscles are machines in the body which convert chemical energy into
mechanical energy. As a result, muscles can generate a force which is used
to move different parts of the body or move substances (like blood or food)
inside the body. However, muscles perform other useful functions as well
such as maintaining posture, stabilising joints and generating heat.
Histologically, muscle is of three types; skeletal muscle attached to bones,
cardiac muscle in the heart and smooth muscle found in the walls of the
viscera.

Skeletal muscle is made up of long cylindrical cells called muscle fibres

(these can be several centimetres long). Skeletal muscle show stripes or
striations under a microscope, hence this type is also known as striated
muscle. A muscle (such as biceps) can have several hundreds or thousands
of cells (fibres) in it. Connective tissues sheaths surround not only individual
muscle fibres but are also present between bundles of fibres as well as
around the whole muscle. All these connective tissue wrappings extend
beyond the muscle cell (fibre) in the form of a tendon which is attached to
bone. Blood vessels and nerves run along the connective tissue sheaths and
branch to supply individual muscle cells. Muscle fibres have a plasma
membrane called sarcolemma and have several nuclei (i.e. they are
multinucleated). Their cytoplasm is rich in glycogen and a special oxygen
binding protein called myoglobin. However, muscle cells have special
structures in the cytoplasm, known as myofibrils. Myofibrils are thin, long rods
which are arranged parallel to each other along the length of the muscle.
Myofibrils are made up of contractile proteins, myosin and actin. Myosin
molecules form thick filaments while actin molecules constitute thin filaments.
Thin filaments are anchored by adhesive proteins, which appear as darker
lines in electron micrographs of muscle. Each dark line is called a Z line and
the part of the myofibril between two adjacent Z lines is called sarcomere.
Similarly, thick filaments are held together by adhesive proteins which give
rise to M lines in photomicrographs of muscle. Because of the way thick and
thin filaments are arranged in skeletal muscle, it appears striated (or striped)
under microscope. Darker stripes (called A bands) are those areas where
thick and thin filaments overlap; whereas lighter stripes (called I bands) are
the areas formed exclusively by thin filaments. The endoplasmic reticulum of
a muscle cell is very prominent and is known as sarcoplasmic reticulum. Each
myofibril is surrounded by a set of tubules from this reticulum. The tubules
contain calcium ions which are used by the myofibril during muscle
contraction. Some tubules in the sarcoplasmic reticulum are more prominent
and run across myofibrils, these are called terminal cisternae. Terminal
cisternae are accompanied by an infolding of the plasma membrane called T
tubule. T tubule and sarcoplasmic reticulum ensure fast and even distribution
of calcium amongst the myofibrils.

Cardiac muscle is present only in the heart. The cells are short, branched
and striated. Each cell has one or two nuclei. A specialised feature of cardiac
muscle cells is that the adjoining cells are attached to each other by junctions
called intercalated discs. These discs keep the cardiac cells together when
heart contracts and ensure that the ions can move across cardiac cells easily,
thereby enabling the action potential to spread across the entire heart quickly.

Smooth muscle is located in the walls of the visceral organs, for example,
stomach, intestine and blood vessels. The cells are spindle shaped and
mono-nucleated (one nucleus/cell). These cells do not show striations and are
involuntary in their action.

NERVOUS TISSUE
It is made up of two types of cells, the excitable cells called neurones and the
supporting cells known as neuroglia.

Neurones are large cells (5 – 140 um) which have one or more long
processes. The cell contains a large round nucleus (nucleolus is ‘owl-shaped’)
and dark staining bodies called Nissl substance in the cytoplasm.
Microtubules and microfilaments are also present in the neurone and play an
important role in intracellular transport. Dendrites are branched processes and
transport electrical activity towards the cell body. Each neurone can have
several dendrites but only one axon. Axons are very large, un-branched and
uniform in diameter. They carry the electrical impulse away from the cell body.

Neuroglia is the connective tissue of the nervous system and contains the
following cells. Astrocytes are star shaped with several processes. The
astrocytes are attached to neurones and blood capillaries and help in the
exchange process between the two. Microglial cells are small round cells
which possess branched processes. They are the macrophages of the
nervous system and engulf bacteria and cellular debris. Ependymal cells line
the cavities of the brain and spinal cord. The cells are cuboidal or columnar
and have cilia; beating of the cilia help in the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
Schwann cells are present around nerve fibres and produce myelin sheaths
which facilitate the conduction of neuronal impulses.