 Tissue : A group of cells similar in

structure, function and origin.

 In a tissue cells my be dissimilar in
structure and function but they
are always similar in origin.
 These types are organized to work
together and each performs a special
life function.
 There are several kinds of these tissues in
animals.
 :
Type Origin Function

1. Epithelial tissue Ectoderm, Protection, secretion,

endoderm, absorption
mesoderm

2. Connective Mesoderm Support, binding,

tissue storage, protection,
circulation.

3. Muscular tissue Mesoderm Contraction and

movement

4. Nervous tissue Ectoderm Conduction and

control
 Word epithelium is composed of two
words
 Epi – Upon
 Thelio – grows

 Meaning a tissue which grows upon

another tissue.
 Cells are either single layered or multi-
layered.
 Cells are compactly arranged
 Cells of lowermost layer always rest on a
non living basement membrane.
 Cells are capable of division and
regeneration throughout the life.
 Epithelial tissue is non-vascularised.

 Due to absence/less of intercellular

spaces blood vessels, lymph vessels are
unable to pierce this tissue so blood
circulation is absent in epithelium. Hence
cells depend for their nutrients on
underlying connective tissue.
 It is the only tissue which originated from
all the three primordial germinal layers.
Simple Compound

-Squamous -Stratified
-Cubical *Stratified
- Ciliated squamous
- Columnar *Stratified cubical
-Pseudostratified
-Transitional
Simple squamous epithelium,
composed of flattened cells that
form a continuous delicate lining of
blood capillaries, lungs, and other
surfaces where it permits the
diffusion of gases and tissue fluids
into and out of cavities.
 – Unilayered.
 – Cells are flat or scale like in shape
 – A flattened/rounded nucleus present.
 – Cells are more in width and less in
length so in vertical section they appear
rectangular in shape.
 – It is also called pavement epithelium
due to its tile like appearance.
 – Also called Tessellated epithelium due
to its wavy appearance.
 – This epithelium is associated with
filtration & diffusion
e.g.
 – Alveoli of lungs
 – Small bronchioles
 – Mesothelium – Covering of coelom is
called as mesothelium. (Tesselated).
 – Endothelium – Inner lining of blood
vessels and lymph vessels. (Tesselated)
 – Inner lining of heart wall (Tesselated).
 Simple cuboidal epithelium is
composed of short, boxlike cells.

 Cuboidal epithelium usually lines

small ducts and tubules, such as those
of the kidney and salivary glands,
and may have active secretory or
absorptive functions.
 – Cells are cube like in shape
 – A rounded nucleus is present in the
centre of cell.
 – Cells are same in length & width so
they appear square shaped in vertical
section
 – This epithelium helps in absorption,
secretion & excretion.
 It also form gametes.
 Mostly cuboidal cells are found in
glands.
 e.g.
 – Thyroid gland
 – Pancreatic duct
 – Secretory unit of sweat glands
 resembles cuboidal epithelium,
but the cells are taller and usually have
elongate nuclei.
 This type of epithelium is found in highly
absorptive surfaces such as the intestinal
tract of most animals. The cells often bear
minute, fingerlike projections called
microvilli that greatly increase the
absorptive surface.
 In some organs, such as the
female reproductive tract, the cells are
ciliated.
 e.g. Liver
 – It appears bilayered as two types of cells
are present
 i.e. Long cells
 Short cells.
 – But all the cells are present on single
basement membrane so its unilayered.
 – All these cells are pillar like in shape so it is
also modification of columnar epithelum.
 – In long cells, elongated nucleus is present
at the base of cell & are ciliated Short cells
have rounded
 nucleus present in the centre of cell, lack
cilla and secrete mucus.
 – Stratified epithelium possess many layer of
epithelial cells, the deepest layers is made
up of cuboidal cells.
 On the basis of shape of the cells of
outermost layer it is of four types.
 (1) Stratified squamous epithelium
 (2) Stratified cubical epithelium
 (3) Stratified columnar epithelium
 (4) Stratified ciliated columnar epithelium
 – Innermost layer of cells are of cuboidal or columnar
shaped.
 – Th
 – They divide to form layer of Stratified epithelium so
this layer is called as Germinativum layer.
 Middle layers are made up of polygonal cells.
 – These cells are interconnected with Desmosomes
which provide rigidity or mechanical support.
 – Cells of outermost layer are scale like flat cells.
 On the basis of presence or absence of Keratin
protein in the outer most cells this epithelium is of two
 types.ese cells have high Mitotic index
– Epidermis of skin
– Scale
– Horn
– Nails
– Feathers
 – Outermost layer of cells are cube like &
cells are nucleated & living.
 – Middle layer – polygonal shaped cells.
 Eg. – Secretory duct of seat glands,
mammary glands and sebaceous gland.
 – Secretory unit of salivary glands,
sebaceous gland.
 – Female Urethra ; part of anal canal.
 – Conjunctiva of eye.
 It consists of columnar cells in both
superficial basal layers. Cells are
nucleated. Cilia absent on free end.
 Example:
 – Distal part of male urethra
 – Epiglottis
 is a type of stratified epithelium
specialized
to accommodate great stretching. This
type of epithelium is found in
the urinary tract and bladder of
vertebrates. In the relaxed state it
appears to be four or five cell layers
thick, but when stretched out it
appears to have only two or three layers
of extremely flattened cells.
 – It is only tissue in which basement
membrane is absent. So innermost layer
directly rest upon underlaying
 connective tissue.
 – In this epithelium 4-6 layer of cells are
present.
 – Inner most layer of cells is composed of
cube like cells.
 – Middle 2-4 layers are composed of
pear shaped or umbrella shaped cells. –
Outermost 1 or 2 layers are of oval
shaped cells.
 – These different shape of cells appears
only in resting stage. When this tissue is
stretched, all the cell
 become flattened.
 – At outermost layer a thin cuticle is present
which makes this tissue water proof.
 – Cells are interconnected by
interdigitation.
 Eg. – Renal Pelvis
 – Ureter
 – Urinary Bladder
 – Proximal part of male urethra.
 Connective tissues are a diverse group of
tissues that serve various binding and
supportive functions. They are so
widespread in the body that removal of
other tissues would still leave the complete
form of the body clearly apparent.
Connective tissue is composed of relatively
few cells, a great many extracellular fibers,
and a ground substance (also called
matrix), in which the fibers are embedded.
We recognize several different types of
connective tissue. Two kinds of connective
tissue proper occur in vertebrates lately
developed.
 Loose (Areolar) Connective Tissue
 Dense Connective Tissue
 Adipose
 Cartilage
 Bone
 Blood
 Gellike ground with both elastic
and non-elastic fibers running
though the ground in many
directions.
Wraps and cushions organs
Under the skin
 Loose connective tissue, also called areolar
connective tissue, is the “packing material”
of the body that anchors blood vessels,
nerves, and body organs. It contains
fibroblasts that synthesize the fibers and
ground substance of connective tissue and
wandering macrophages that phagocytize
pathogens or damaged cells. The different
fiber types include strong collagen fibers
(thick and red in micrograph) and thin
elastic fibers (black and branching in
micrograph) formed of the protein elastin.
Adipose (fat) tissue is considered a type of
loose connective tissue.
 Nuclei and fibers arranged in parallel rows.
 Tendons and ligaments
 Fibers mostly non-elastic

Dense connective tissue forms tendon, ligaments,

and fasciae (fa´sha), the latter arranged as
sheets or bands of tissue surrounding skeletal
muscle. In
tendon (shown here) the collagenous fibers are
extremely long and tightly packed together.
 Function as storage cells for adipose (lipids)
 Adipose cells contain a large vacuole
which in the live cell contains lipids.
 Cell nucleus and cytoplasm are pushed out
to edge of cell membrane.

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 Ground of matrix is gum like.
 Cells are found in Lacunae within the matrix.
 Fibers may be elastic or non-elastic, or a
form of non-elastic called reticular(where
the non-elastic fibers of very thin)
 Hyaline Cartilage-example on the ends of bones
 Elastic Cartilage- example ear cartilage
 Non-elastic Cartilage- example nose cartilage.

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Ground of matrix is Solid (Calcium
carbonate).
Has blood supply and nerves running
through the Haversian canal systems.

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 Liquid matrix = plasma
 90% water
 10%Plasma proteins, electrolytes, hormones,
oxygen, glucose etc.
 Formed elements
 Erythrocytes -48billion(female) to 54 billion
(male) cell / ml of blood in humans.
Mammals are enucleated while rest of the
vertebrates they have nuclei
 Leukocytes -about 7.5 million / ml of blood
 Platelets -blood clotting

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 Tissue with cells having fibers specialized
for contraction.
Skeletal Muscle (Striated,
voluntary)
 Parallel elongated cells (fibers)
 multinucleated and each cell is the
length of the muscle.
 Light meat, Dark meat—Slow twitch,
fast twitch muscle

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Jenna Hellack Jan 2001
 -Cells are long and tapered.
-Organized into sheets of muscle.
 A no striated muscle found in both invertebrates
and vertebrates. Smooth muscle cells are long,
tapering strands, each containing a single nucleus.
Smooth muscle is the most common type of muscle
in invertebrates in which it serves as body wall
musculature and lines ducts and sphincters. In
vertebrates, smooth muscle lines the walls of blood
vessels and surrounds internal organs such as the
intestine and uterus. It is called involuntary muscle
in vertebrates since its contraction is usually not
consciously controlled.
Jenna Hellack Jan 2001
 Cardiac Muscle
 Intercalated disc
 Myogenic
 Branched
 It is another type of striated muscle found only
in the vertebrate heart. The cells are much
shorter than those of skeletal muscle and have
only one nucleus per cell (uninucleate).
Cardiac muscle tissue is a branching network
of fibers with individual cells interconnected by
functional complexes called intercalated
discs. Cardiac muscle is considered
involuntary muscle because it does not require
nerve activity to stimulate contraction.
Instead, heart rate is controlled by specialized
pacemaker cells located in the heart itself.
However, autonomic nerves from the brain
may alter pacemaker activity.
Jenna Hellack Jan 2001
 Nervous tissue is specialized for reception
of stimuli and conduction of impulses
from one region to another. Two basic
types of cells in nervous tissue are
neurons (Gr. nerve), the basic functional
unit of the nervous system, and neuroglia
(nu-rog`le-a; Gr. nerve, + glia, glue), a
variety of nonnervous cells that insulate
neuron membranes and serve various
supportive functions. Figure 9-8 shows the
functional anatomy of a typical nerve
cell.

Jenna Hellack Jan 2001