TRAN DUNG September 2007

LAB REPORT 1. TISSUES

I. Abstract
During this lab, we examined different types of tissues. The purpose of lab #1 is basic
morphological differences between different tissues and how to identify them.

II. Introduction
Tissue is an organized group of cells that have the same function. There are four basic types of
tissue:
- Epithelium: main function is protection. It is characterized by contagious cells which form
single or multiple layers, usually line at the surface.
- Connective tissue: support other tissues and various other functions (store heat, cushion,
transportation…). The tissue contains cells and rich extracellular matrix. The cells are
separated from one another. In some types of connective tissue where strength is required, the
fibers are numerous.
- Muscle tissue: responsible for movement. It is characterized by rich and highly ordered
elongated cells.
- Nerve tissue: receive, process and deliver information
Notice the staining methods that are used in the samples.

III. Materials and Methods

Five slides were examined: mammal artery, stratified squamous epithelium, human muscle,
mammal mucous and human spinal cord. We observed, identified tissue types, drew pictures and
compared them.

IV. Results
Fig. 1: Mammal artery and vein – cross section
The inner diameter of artery is smaller than that of vein, since artery has thicker muscle layer.
Components of artery from the centre: thin endothelium, elastic lamellae (dense area of thin,
elongated nuclei), circularly-arranged smooth muscle.
We can see numerous arterioles and venules, which are much smaller and less stained than artery
and vein.
This is an example of muscle tissue. However, in this slide we can also observe dense irregular
connective tissue, which has typical irregular shape

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Fig. 2: Stratified squamous epithelium

The cells near basal layer are denser and may have
cuboidal shape. At the upper layer, cells become regular
shape – almost round.
The cells are small, dense, the background is also
stained.

Fig. 3: Mammal cardiac muscle – longitudinal section

Very dense, elongated fibers
Nuclei are centrally located and can be easily observed
This is an example of muscle tissue

Fig. 4: Mammal mucous

Surrounding the ducts are slightly stained cells. There’s
a large amount of ground substance. Cells and fibers are
sparse.
Mucous is a form of connective tissue.

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Fig. 5: Human spinal cord (cross section)

This is an example of nervous tissue.
There’s a symmetrical, butterfly-shaped cellular matrix of gray matter, which is very dense at the
centre. Peripheral region contains white matter.
Cells are equally stained, nuclei are at the centre of cells.

V. Discussion
- Cells of epithelium, muscle and connective tissues has very typical morphological
characteristics, while nerve tissue cells are harder to recognize by observation. Nerve tissue is
defined by function.
- Cells’ shape and arrangement are adapted to their function: Muscle and dense connective tissue
have dense fibers which provide strength. Epithelium has dense cells and is located at inner or
outer surface.
- When there’s a cluster of small dots, it could be either small blood vessels or nerve cells. The
difference is that nerve cells have nuclei, while blood vessels have nothing inside. Sometimes it
may be difficult to tell whether a cluster is blood vessels or nerve cells. We may need to know
the origin and function of tissue to tell exactly..

VI. References
Ross, M. et al. 2003. Histology, A text and Atlas. 4th ed. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

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TRAN DUNG September 2007

LAB REPORT 2. EPITHELIAL TISSUE

I. Abstract
During this lab, we examined different types of epithelial tissue. The cell types and their
arrangement are key points to identify epithelial tissue types.

II. Introduction
Epithelium is usually found at the surface, in single or multiple layer. Epithelial cells are often
contiguous, the background is often blank. There are 3 different cell shapes: squamous (flattened),
cuboidal and columnar. Cells may be arranged in simple (one layer) or stratified (multiple layers)
structure.
Here are the main types of epithelium, followed by their location and fuction (respectively):
- Simple squamous: line vascular system, body cavities, Bowman’s capsule and respiratory
spaces in lung. Function: exchange and barrier.
- Simple cuboidal: line small ducts of exocrine glands, surface of ovary and kidney tubules.
Function: absorption and barrier.
- Simple columnar: line small intestine and colon, stomach, gastric glands and gallbladder.
Function: absorption and secretion.
- Stratified squamous: epidermis, oral cavity, vagina. Function: barrier and protection.
- Stratified cuboidal: sweat gland ducts, exocrine glands. Function: barrier and conduit.
- Stratified columnar: largest ducts of exocrine glands, anorectal junction. Function: barrier and
conduit.
- Pseudostratified: trachea, ductus deferens. Function: secretion, absorption, conduit. Note that in
this type, the cells’ arrangement looks like multiple layers but actually all cells contact with
basal membrane.

Simple types include only one cell layer, usually used for absorption, while stratified types
usually serve as barrier.

III. Materials and Methods

6 slides were provided: endothelium, simple cuboidal epithelium, simple columnar epithelium,
pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium, stratified columnar epithelium, stratified squamous
epithelium (skin and scalp).

IV. Results

Fig. 1: Simple cuboidal

There’s a thin line of cuboidal or square shaped cells at the surface. We can see nuclei at cells’
centre but the cytoplasm looks almost blank. The background is slightly stained but there’s nothing can
be observed.
Beneath the epithelium is connective tissue.

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Simple columnar epithelium

This tissue is easy to recognize because of conspicuous and typical cell shape (the height is much
greater than the width). Nuclei are highly stained. The cells line the ducts, therefore, their function
would be absorption or secretion.

Stratified squamous epithelium

There are many layers of squamous cells without any space between them. Cells are most dense
at the inner layer (basal cells), where they contact with connective tissue

Pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium

Cells are columnar shaped and dense; their nuclei are located at the inner side. By careful
observation we can find that all cells contact with basal membrane.
There are cilia on outer surface.
There’s a thin line of shorter cells underneath columnar cells – this is basal membrane

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Fig. 5: Scalp (Stratified squamous epithelium)

At the root of hair is stratified squamous epithelium tissue. The cells appear as described in Fig. 3

Fig. 6: Stratified ciliated columnar epithelium

The top layer is columnar cells, while the inner layer is cuboidal cells. The nuclei are highly
stained. Different from pseudostratified columnar epithelium, the cells here are more organized. There
are only 2-3 layers of cells.

Fig. 7: Endothelium silver (squamous epithelium)

The specimen has the typical brown – orange color. We can see dark small dots in cytoplasm.
Cell borders are conspicuous, while nuclei are less stained

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VII. Discussion
- Difference between squamous and cuboidal epithelium: Squamous epithelium cells are very
dense, every cell is contiguous with others; there’s no space between cells. On the contrary, in
cuboidal epithelium we can observe extracellular space, as cells are not too close to each other.
Cuboidal cells’ nuclei are more highly stained and round shaped.
- Squamous cells are usually found at the surfaces, with protective function. Cuboidal and
columnar cells usually line along the ducts, their function is secretion.
- Columnar cells are easy to recognize because of their rectangular shape. Nuclei tend to locate
near the inner side. When they form stratified tissue, there are only 1 or 2 layers of columnar
cells, and a layer of cuboidal cells beneath. However, stratified epithelium is named after the
upper layer, so such tissue is called stratified columnar epithelium.
- Among stratified epithelium: stratified squamous epithelium is most dense, with many layers of
cells and there’s no space between them.
- Beside the familiar H&E stain, we can see the application of silver stain (with stratified
squamous epithelium) and Picro Mallory (with scalp). The shortcoming of H&E stain is that it
may not reveal basement membranes, cytoplasmic materials (mostly small particles). Silver
stain can fix this problem.

VIII. References
Ross, M. et al. 2003. Histology, A text and Atlas. 4th ed. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

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TRAN DUNG September 2007

LAB REPORT 3. CONNECTIVE TISSUE

I. Abstract
During this lab, we examined 8 slides of connective tissue. We learned how the fiber types and
matrix components vary in different types of connective tissue, depends on its function.

II. Introduction
Connective tissue consists of cells and extracellular matrix which includes fibers, ground
substance and fluid. Connective tissue is a broad category which is found almost everywhere in the
body, with different functions: from structural support (eg. Tendons, ligaments), metabolism (eg.
Adipose), blood’s component to defense.

In lab #3 we looked at the following types of connective tissue:

- Connective tissue proper: loose connective tissue and dense connective tissue (including
irregular and regular)
Loose connective tissue (areolar) has thin and sparse collagen but rich ground substance. We can
see numerous nuclei. Loose connective tissue is located underneath the epithelium; therefore, it is the
second barrier to prevent pathogens. It can also fills the place between muscle fibers, surrounds blood
and lymph vessels.
On the contrary, dense regular connective tissue has dense and well-organized fibers. The tissue
may contain a small number of cells. The most common type of dense regular connective tissue is
tendon. Tendon connects muscle to bone and is built to resist tension. Its fibers are arranged in bundles
and may be surrounded by loose connective tissue
Dense irregular connective tissue has random fibers and comprises a large portion of the
epidermis.

- Specialized connective tissue: there are many types of specialized connective tissue. In this
lab we’ll only look at adipose and cartilage.
+ Adipose is mostly composed of adipocytes, which contain fat droplets. This tissue stores energy
and cushions the body.
+ Cartilage is avascular, with a large amount of hyaluronic acid. Cells (chondrocytes), fibers and
matrix, which is composed of proteoglycans.
* Hyaline cartilage: matrix contains type II collagen. Hyaline cartilage is characterized
by the homogenous, amorphous matrix. It is both resilent and pliable, therefore, usually appear in
synovial joints to distribute forces to joint’s components.
* Elastic cartilage: characterized by elastic fibers and interconnecting sheets of elastic
materials. It is found in external ear and epiglottis of the larynx.
* Fibrocartilage: mostly consist of collagen fibers. There is no perichondrium and very
small amount of amorphous matrix. Fibrocartilage is the combination of dense regular connective
tissue and hyaline cartilage. Function : It resists compression and shock.

- Mucous connective tissue: found in umbilical cord. Its gelatin-like matrix (Wharton’s jelly)
fills the space between collagen fibers. The spindle-shaped cells are sparse and appear like
fibroblasts.

III. Materials and Methods

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TRAN DUNG September 2007
In this lab we looked at 8 slides: fibrocartilage, hyaline cartilage, elastic cartilage, elastic tissue,
adipose, areola (loose connective tissue), tendons (dense regular connective tissue), mucous connective
tissue
IV. Results

Fig. 1: Dense regular connective tissue: Tendons

The collagen bulk has a homogenous appearance, therefore, it is impossible to distinguish one
collagen fiber from another. Tendon cells are very dense and well organized. There are numerous
flattened nuclei of tendon cells. Sometimes endotendineum (darker line) can be observed.

Fig. 2: Loose connective tissue – Aerolar

There are numerous fibers. Some areas are very dense while some are not. Nuclei are round or a
little bit flattened, usually located at cell’s centre. This tissue is characterized by large number of nuclei
and un-organized fibers

Fig. 3: Elastic tissue

In this cross section, we see the very dense fibers with little blank space between them

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Fig. 4: Fibrocartilage
This tissue has dense, irregular fibers. There are more fibers than cells. The matrix appear blank.
Fibers are stained blue, while nuclei are stained red.
There are 2 types of nuclei: round-shaped nuclei (cartilage cells’) and few flat, elongated nuclei
(fibroblasts’)

Fig. 5: Hyaline
Cells are almost round shaped, always located in lacunae. Each lacuna may be occupied by 1 or
few cells. The area around lacunae (capsule/territorial matrix) is highly stained. Cell cytoplasm and
extracellular spaces appear blank.

Fig. 6: Elastic cartilage – H&E and orcein stain

There are numerous cells (chondrocytes) on dark background. The elastic fibers appear as dark,
elongated threads, usually at the edge of the tissue
We can also observe adipose tissue in this sample.

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Fig. 7:Adipose
The cells are almost round and blank. Nuclei are at the edge of cells. On background we can find
some cluster of blood vessels

Fig. 8: Mammal mucous tissue

The collagen fibers scatter on the blank background, around the ducts. This blank space would
normally be fluid-filled.
At higher magnification, we can see the network of collagen fibers and nuclei of fibroblasts.

V. Discussion
Cells of epithelium, muscle and connective tissues has very typical morphological

VI. References
Ross, M. et al. 2003. Histology, A text and Atlas. 4th ed. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

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