EPITHELIUM

Ted Lane
 COVERING EPITHELIUM
sheets of cells covering free surfaces
covering outsides of body and organs
and
lining lumens of hollow organs and body cavities

GLANDULAR EPITHELIUM
clusters of secretory cells
covered later
COVERING EPITHELIUM
sheets of cells covering free surfaces
epithelial cells held together by desmosomes,
nail-like filaments anchoring each cell to its neighbors
classification:
cell shape
squamous (flat) bulging nucleus

cuboidal
columnar (tall)
transitional (changing shape back and forth)
number of layers of cells
simple (single layer)
stratified (2 or more layers)
pseudostratified
(single layer appearing multiple)
 Transverse Section (edge-on view)
3-D View
Single Layer
nucleus out of plane
bulging nucleus of section
LUMEN

connective tissue

LUMEN

connective tissue

LUMEN
basement membrane

connective tissue
EXAMPLES OF COVERING EPITHELIUM
SIMPLE SQUAMOUS
lining mouth
lining Bowmen’s capsule of kidney
lining blood vessels
covering outside of small intestine
SIMPLE CUBOIDAL
lining kidney tubules
SIMPLE COLUMNAR
lining small intestine
PSEUDOSTRATIFIED COLUMNAR
lining trachea
STRATIFIED SQUAMOUS
lining esophagus
epidermis of skin
TRANSITIONAL
lining urinary bladder
 LAYERS of CELLS forming MEMBRANES

MUCOUS MEMBRANES
lining body spaces open to outside
digestive, respiratory, urinary, and reproductive tracts
SEROUS MEMBRANES
covering all surfaces in closed body spaces
walls of abdominal, pleural, and pericardial cavities
outsides of organs in those cavities
SEROUS MEMBRANES HAVE SPECIFIC NAMES:
PERITONEUM, PLEURA, AND PERICARDIUM
 The tissues in the following pictures have been
stained with a mixture of Hematoxylin and Eosin.
Hematoxylin is purple, and basic.
Eosin is yellow and acidic.
So everything ranges in color from purple
(basophilic or base-loving) parts of tissue or
cells to yellow (acidophil or acid-loving) stuff.

In general, basophilic stuff is darker, acidophilic lighter.

Epithelium is always more basophilic

than the underlying connective tissue.
 HIGH POWER VIEW OF
SQUAMOUS CELLS SCRAPED
FROM LINING OF MOUTH
LYING FLAT

NUCLEUS

THIN (FLAT) CYTOPLASM

Stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E):

nuclei – basophlic (dark)
cytoplasm – acidophilic (light)
LOW POWER VIEW OF KIDNEY
 LOW POWER VIEW OF KIDNEY

BOWMAN’S
CAPSULE KIDNEY
TUBULES
MEDIUM POWER VIEW OF KIDNEY
 LUMEN OF
BOWMAN’S
CAPSULE
SQUAMOUS
EPITHELIUM
BULGING NUCLEI VISIBLE
CYTOPLASM VERY THIN

MEDIUM POWER VIEW OF KIDNEY

MEDIUM POWER VIEW OF SMALL INTESTINE
WALL
 SUE
T IS
E
T IV
EC
N
N
SQUAMOUS CO
SUE EPITHELIUM
T IS
E
T IV
EC
N
N
CO

SMALL
VEIN

MEDIUM
MEDIUM POWER
POWER VIEW OF SMALL
VIEW SMALL INTESTINE
INTESTINE
WALL
 LUMEN OF ABDOMINAL CAVITY

HIGH POWER VIEW OF

OUTSIDE REGION OF
SMALL INTESTINE
WALL
 SIMPLE SQUAMOUS
EPITHELIUM
LUMEN OF ABDOMINAL CAVITY

SMOOTH MUSCLE
IN TRANSVERSE SECTION

SMOOTH MUSCLE
IN LONGITUDINAL SECTION

HIGH POWER VIEW OF

OUTSIDE REGION OF
SMALL INTESTINE
WALL
MEDIUM POWER VIEW OF KIDNEY
 BASEMENT
MEMBRANE
USUALLY DIFFICULT TO
SEE

KIDNEY TUBULE

SIMPLE CUBOIDAL
EPITHELIUM

MEDIUM POWER VIEW OF KIDNEY

MEDIUM POWER VIEW OF KIDNEY
 MEDIUM POWER VIEW OF KIDNEY

SIMPLE CUBOIDAL
EPITHELIUM

LO
N
GI
TU
DI
N
AL
VI
EW
O
F
KI
DN
EY
TU
BU
L E SINGLE CUBOIDAL
LU
M CELL
EN

BASEMENT
MEMBRAN
E
LOOKING THROUGH THE SMALL INTESTINE:
VERY LOW POWER VIEW OF LUMEN AND LINING SURFACE
 LUMEN

VILLI

LOOKING THROUGH THE SMALL INTESTINE:

VERY LOW POWER VIEW OF LUMEN AND LINING SURFACE
 LOW POWER VIEW OF SMALL INTESTINE
TRANSVERSE SECTION

LUMEN OF
ABDOMINAL
CAVITY

LUMEN OF SMALL INTESTINE

 LOW POWER VIEW OF SMALL INTESTINE
TRANSVERSE SECTION

LUMEN OF
ABDOMINAL
CAVITY
le
c
us
m
th
oo
sm

VILLU
S
e
e tiv
su ec
tis nn

LUMEN OF SMALL INTESTINE

co
 LUMEN OF
SMALL
INTESTINE

MEDIUM POWER VIEW OF 2 VILLI

 SIMPLE COLUMNAR
EPITHELIUM LUMEN OF
SMALL
INTESTINE
co
nn
e
tis ctiv
su e
goblet cell e
nucleus
SINGLE
COLUMNA
GOBLET R CELL
CELLS

conn
ec tive
t is s u
e

MEDIUM POWER VIEW OF 2 VILLI

HIGH POWER VIEW OF A VILLUS
 BRUSH BORDER
HIGH POWER VIEW OF A VILLUS OF MICROVILLI

MUCUS

TERMINAL
WEB

connective tissue
with lots of lymphocytes

BASEMEN
T
MEMBRAN
E
HIGH POWER VIEW OF A VILLUS

APICAL(LUMINAL)
BORDER

LATERAL
BORDERS
not very visible

BASAL
BORDER
Pseudostratified Columnar Epithelium

LUMEN
cilia

connective tissue basement membrane

Cells vary somewhat in shape and size;

All cells do not reach lumen;
But all cells sit on basement membrane.
 MEDIUM POWER VIEW OF TRACHEA LINING

LUMEN OF TRACHEA
 MEDIUM POWER VIEW OF TRACHEA LINING

LUMEN OF TRACHEA GOBLET

CILIA CELLS

PSEUDOSTRATIFIE
D COLUMNAR
EPITHELIUM

connective tissue
HIGH POWER VIEW OF TRACHEA LINING
 HIGH POWER VIEW OF TRACHEA LINING

GOBLET
CELLS

CILIA
MEDIUM POWER VIEW OF ESOPHAGUS

LUMEN
 MEDIUM POWER VIEW OF ESOPHAGUS

STRATIFIED
SQUAMOUS LUMEN
EPITHELIU
M

tissu ive
e
ect
conn
squamous
conn ue

cells
t is s
ectiv

cuboidal cells being flattened,

as pushed outward by deeper
e

dividing cells

continuously dividing
cells
 OUTSIDE

vein n i
ve

artery MEDIUM POWER VIEW OF THICK

SKIN
 OUTSIDE

STRATIFIED
SQUAMOUS
EPITHELIUM
(epidermis)

connective tissue (dermis)

epithelium – basophilic
connective tissue - acidophilic

MEDIUM POWER VIEW OF THICK

SKIN
SKIN
 OUTSIDE

DEAD, FLAT, KERATINIZED

CELLS

DIFFERENTIATIN
G CELLS

DIVIDING CELLS
connective tissue (dermis)

MEDIUM POWER VIEW OF THICK

SKIN
SKIN
HIGH POWER VIEW OF THIN SKIN

OUTSIDE
 HIGH POWER VIEW OF THIN SKIN

OUTSIDE

KER
A T IN
I ZE D
, S TR
A T IF
EPIT
HELI IED SQU
UM A MO
US

connective tissue (dermis)

 HIGH POWER VIEW OF THIN SKIN

OUTSIDE DEAD, FLAT, KERATINIZED

CELLS

DESMOSOME
S visible
between
separated
cells

DIFFERENTIATIN
G CELLS

DIVIDING CELLS

connective tissue (dermis)

 Transitional Epithelium

dome-shaped cells

bladder fills

bladder empties connective tissue

connective tissue

Stratified epithelium in which cells

change shape, back and forth,
as bladder fills, empties, refills, etc.

epithelium – basophilic
underlying connective tissue - acidophilic
 MEDIUM POWER VIEW OF EMPTY BLADDER

connective tissue

bladder lumen
 MEDIUM POWER VIEW OF EMPTY BLADDER

TRANSITIONAL
connective tissue EPITHELIUM

bladder lumen

DOME-SHAPED
CELLS
GENERAL FUNCTIONS OF COVERING EPITHELIUM:

SIMPLE SQUAMOUS
lining mouth containment, protection
lining Bowmen’s capsule of kidney containment
lining blood vessels containment, diffusion, filtration
covering outside of small intestine secretion
SIMPLE CUBOIDAL
lining kidney tubules absorption
SIMPLE COLUMNAR
lining small intestine absorption, secretion, protection

PSEUDOSTRATIFIED COLUMNAR
lining trachea secretion, mucus movement, protection
STRATIFIED SQUAMOUS
lining esophagus containment, protection
epidermis of skin protection
TRANSITIONAL
lining urinary bladder containment, expansion