Animal tissues Based on morphology, animal tissues can be grouped into four basic types.

Multiple tissue types comprise organs and body structures. While all animals can generally be considered to contain the four tissue types, the manifestation of these tissues can differ depending on the type of organism. For example, the origin of the cells comprising a particular tissue type may differ developmentally for different classifications of animals. The epithelium in all animals is derived from the ectoderm and endoderm with a small contribution from the mesoderm which forms the endothelium. By contrast, a true connective tissue is present only in triploblastic animals; diploblastic animals such as sponges, jellyfish and coral in effect do not have connective tissue but rather an acellular gel known as the mesoglea separates different tissues types in these animals. The mesoglea serves the function of a connective tissue but is derived from ectoderm.

Epithelium
Epithelium is single layer of cells held together via occluding junctions called tight junctions, to create a selectively permeable barrier. This tissue covers all organismal surfaces that come in contact with the external environment such as the skin, the airways, and the digestive tract. It serves functions of protection, secretion, and absorption, and is separated from other tissues below by a basal lamina. Endothelium, which comprises the vasculature, is a specialized type of epithelium.

Connective tissue
Connective tissue is comprised of cells separated by non-living material, which is called extracellular matrix. Connective tissue holds other tissues together such as in the formation of organs, and has the ability to stretch and contract passively. Bone, often referred to as osseous tissue, and blood are examples of specialized connective tissues.

Muscle tissue
Muscle cells form the active contractile tissue of the body known as muscle tissue. Muscle tissue functions to produce force and cause motion, either locomotion or movement within internal organs. Muscle tissue is separated into three distinct categories: visceral or smooth muscle, which is found in the inner linings of organs; skeletal muscle, which is found attached to bone providing for gross movement; and cardiac muscle which is found in the heart, allowing it to contract and pump blood throughout an organism.

Neural tissue
Cells comprising the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system are classified as neural tissue. In the central nervous system, neural tissue forms the brain, cranial nerves and spinal cord and, in the peripheral nervous system, peripheral nerves inclusive of the motor neurons. Source: wikipedia_ bioligical tissue