HISTOLOGY: RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

(PRELAB DISCUSSION)

Prepared by: FRITZ VON T. GELLA, RMT, MD

College of Medicine
Davao Medical School Foundation, Inc.
 RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

The respiratory system can be functionally

divided into two major divisions:
▪ a conducting portion, consisting of airways
that deliver air to the lungs
▪ a respiratory portion, consisting of
structures within the lungs in which oxygen
in the inspired air is exchanged for carbon
dioxide in the blood

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RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

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 NOSE

PARTS:
External nose
▪ External cover
▪ Continues into vestibule
▪ Appendages
▫ Sweat glands, numerous
▫ Sebaceous gland, numerous
▫ Hair (coarse and stiff in vestibule)

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 NOSE

PARTS:
Nasal cavities (fossae)
▪ Two (2)hollow structures
Parts:
▫ Medial wall - nasal septum
▫ Roof
▫ Floor
▫ Lateral wall (contains the superior, mid
and inferior nasal turbinates)
▪ Mucous membrane (mucosa)
▫ Lines nasal cavity except at vestibule
▫ Also lines digestive, genitourinary and
most of respiratory tract 5
 NOSE: MUCOSA

EPITHELIUM
▪ Respiratory epithelium
▫ Lines majority of the nose
▪ Nonciliated cuboidal or columnar
▫ At junction of vestibule and rest of nasal
cavity
▪ Olfactory epithelium
▫ Roof of nose and some adjacent areas
LAMINA PROPRIA
▪ Connective tissue with: mucous and serous
glands; in area of nasal turbinates, contains
rich venous plexuses; blends with
periosteum or perichondrium 6
 NOSE: RESPIRATORY EPITHELIUM

▪ Ciliated columnar cell

▪ Goblet cell
▪ Brush cell
▪ Basal cell
▪ Granule cell/ Kulchitsky cell

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 NOSE: RESPIRATORY EPITHELIUM

▪ Ciliated columnar cell

▪ Goblet cell
▪ Brush cell
▪ Basal cell
▪ Granule cell/ Kulchitsky cell

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 NOSE: OLFACTORY EPITHELIUM (ORGAN OF OLFACTION)

LOCATION
▪ Roof of nasal cavity
▪ Superior turbinate
▪ Superior portions of septum
PSEUDOSTRATIFIED COLUMNAR EPITHELIUM
▪ Tall, about 60 μm in thickness
▪ Contains receptors for sense of smell
▪ No goblet cells
▪ Basal lamina is indistinct
LAMINA PROPRIA
▪ Loose lymphoid tissue
▪ Glands of bowman (Olfactory glands)
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 NOSE: OLFACTORY EPITHELIUM (ORGAN OF OLFACTION)

▪ Sustentacular (supporting) cells

▪ Olfactory neurons
▪ Basal cells

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NOSE: EPITHELIUM

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NOSE: EPITHELIUM

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 PHARYNX

▪ Common to digestive and respiratory

systems
▪ Continuous with esophagus
▪ Subdivisions:
▫ Nasopharynx
▫ Oropharynx
▫ Laryngopharynx

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 PHARYNX: NASOPHARYNX

EPITHELIUM
▪ Respiratory epithelium, except
▫ Areas subjected to friction (stratified
squamous nonkeratinized)
▫ Roof (stratified columnar ciliated)
▪ Rest of pharynx
▫ stratified squamous nonkeratinized
epithelium

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 LARYNX

▪ Also serves an important role in phonation

▪ Framework is formed by cartilage
▫ Thyroid, cricoid and arytenoids (except
for tips, which are elastic) – are hyaline
▫ Epiglottic, corniculate and cuneiform –
are elastic

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 LARYNX

EPITHELIUM
▪ Stratified squamous nonkeratinized
▫ Over anterior surface and upper half
of posterior surface of epiglottis,
aryepiglottic folds, and vocal cords
lamina propria
▪ Respiratory epithelium
▫ Rest of larynx

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LARYNX: EPIGLOTTIS

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LARYNX

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LARYNX

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LARYNX

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 TRACHEA

▪ The walls of these structures are

supported by C-shaped hyaline
cartilages (C-rings), whose open ends
face posteriorly.
▪ Smooth muscle (trachealis muscle in
the trachea) extends between the
open ends of these cartilages.

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 TRACHEA

HISTOLOGIC LAYERS
▪ Mucosa
▪ Submucosa
▪ Cartilage and muscle layer
▪ Adventitia

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 TRACHEA

HISTOLOGIC LAYERS: MUCOSA

EPITHELIUM
▪ Respiratory epithelium
▪ Very thick basal lamina
▪ Abundant goblet cells

LAMINA PROPRIA
▪ Loose connective tissue
▪ MALT
▪ In deep layer - elastic fibers form a band
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 TRACHEA

HISTOLOGIC LAYERS: SUBMUCOSA

▪ Loose connective tissue

▪ Bronchial submucosal glands
▫ Tubuloalveolar glands
▫ Mixed glands

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 TRACHEA

HISTOLOGIC LAYERS: CARTLAGE

AND MUSCLE LAYER

▪ Most characteristic features

▪ 16- 20 c-shaped that are open
posteriorly
▪ Thick layer of smooth muscle
fibers (trachealis muscle) and
fibroelastic ligament bridge the
open ends

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TRACHEA

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 BRONCHI: PRIMARY, SECONDARY, TERTIARY

▪ EPITHELIUM
▫ Respiratory
▪ Prominent spiral bands of smooth
muscle
▪ Irregular hyaline cartilage plates

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 BRONCHIOLES

▪ Arise from several generations

of branches of bronchi
▪ Primary and terminal
bronchioles lack glands in their
submucosa.
▪ Their walls contain smooth
muscle rather than cartilage
plates.

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 PRIMARY BRONCHIOLES

▪ Primary bronchioles have a

diameter of 1 millimeter (mm)
or less.
▪ They are lined by epithelium
that varies from ciliated
columnar with goblet cells in
the larger airways to ciliated
cuboidal with Clara cells in the
smaller passages.
▪ They divide to form several
terminal bronchioles after
entering the pulmonary lobule.
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 TERMINAL BRONCHIOLES

▪ Terminal bronchioles are the

most distal part of the
conducting portion of the
respiratory system.
▪ They are lined by a simple
cuboidal epithelium that
contains mostly Clara cells,
some ciliated cells, and no
goblet cells.

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 TERMINAL BRONCHIOLES

Clara cells have the following functions:

▪ Clara cells divide, and some of them
differentiate to form ciliated cells.
▪ They secrete glycosaminoglycans.
▪ They metabolize airborne toxins, a
process that is carried out by
cytochrome P-450 enzymes present
in their abundant smooth
endoplasmic reticulum (SER).

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 RESPIRATORY BRONCHIOLES

▪ Respiratory bronchioles mark

the transition from the
conducting to the respiratory
portion of the respiratory
system.
▪ EPITHELIUM
▫ simple cuboidal epithelium
consisting of Clara cells and
some ciliated cells, except
where their walls are
interrupted by alveoli, the
sites where gas exchange
occurs. 32
 ALVEOLAR DUCTS

▪ Alveolar ducts are linear passageways continuous with the respiratory

bronchioles.
▪ Their walls consist of adjacent alveoli, which are separated from one
another only by an interalveolar septum.
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 ALVEOLAR DUCTS

▪ They are the most distal portion of the respiratory system to contain
smooth muscle, which is present in their walls at the openings of adjacent
alveoli.
▪ They are lined by type II pneumocytes and the highly attenuated simple
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squamous epithelium of type I pneumocytes.
 ALVEOLAR SACS

▪ Expanded outpouchings of numerous alveoli located at the distal ends of

alveolar ducts.

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 ALVEOLI

▪ Alveoli are pouch-like evaginations

present in the walls of respiratory
bronchioles, in alveolar ducts, and in
alveolar sacs.
▪ They are separated from each other
by interalveolar septae.
▪ They are lined by a highly attenuated
simple squamous epithelium
composed of type I and type II
pneumocytes.

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 ALVEOLI

ALVEOLAR CELLS

1. Type I Alveolar cell

▪ Other names: ▪ Form tight junctions with other type I
▫ Pulmonary epithelial cell and type II alveolar cells
▫ Small alveolar cell ▪ Rest on basal lamina
▫ Type I Pneumocyte cell
▪ Less in number
▪ Stretched thinly
▪ Cover 95% of alveolar surface

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ALVEOLI

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 ALVEOLI

ALVEOLAR CELLS

2. Type II Alveolar cell

▪ Other names: ▪ Free surface contains short microvilli
▫ Great alveolar cell ▪ Lamellar bodies in cytoplasm
▫ Type II Pneumocyte cell ▪ Membrane bound
▪ More in number ▪ Produces secretory granules for
▪ Much larger pulmonary surfactant
▪ Account only for 5% of epithelial cover
▪ Occur singly or in clusters
▪ Cuboidal or round cells
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ALVEOLI

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ALVEOLI

TYPE ?

TYPE ?

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 ALVEOLI

ALVEOLAR CELLS

3. Pulmonary Alveolar Macrophages

▪ Most numerous cells in alveoli
▪ Not part of interalveolar septum
▪ Float freely in alveoli
▪ First line of defense of lungs
▪ Avid scavengers
▪ Called “dust cells” when with
phagocytose dust particles
▪ Arise from monocytes
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ALVEOLI

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 ALVEOLI

INTERALVEOLAR SEPTUM

▪ wall, or partition, between two

adjacent alveoli
▪ bounded on its outer surfaces by
the extremely thin simple
squamous epithelium lining the
alveoli
▪ accommodates the blood-gas
barrier, which separates the
alveolar airspace from the capillary
lumen 44
 ALVEOLI

BLOOD-AIR BARRIER

▪ Ultra-thin wall
▪ Separates blood in a pulmonary
capillary from air in alveolus
▪ Composition:
▫ pulmonary epithelial cell (type I)
▫ basal lamina of the alveolar
epithelium
▫ basal lamina of the capillary
endothelium
▫ capillary endothelial cell 45
SUMMARY

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SUMMARY

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