Chapter 1 
Histology
Introduction
Histology is central to biological and medical
science
Histology is the study of the microscopic structure
of biological material and the ways in which individual
components are structurally and functionally related.
It is central to biological and medical science since it
stands at the crossroads between biochemistry, molecu­
lar biology and physiology on the one side, and disease
processes and their effects on the other.
Samples of human biological material can be obtained
from many areas of the body by quick, safe techniques
(Fig. 1.1), using instruments such as:
• Scalpels for directly accessible tissues such as the
skin, mouth, nose, etc.
• Needles into solid organs
• Endoscopic tubes into the alimentary tract or body
cavities
• Special flexible cannulae inside blood vessels.
Knowledge of normal histological appearances is es­­
sential if abnormal diseased structures are to be recog­
nized, and to comprehend how abnormal biochemical
and physiological processes result in disease.
This is an exciting period in histology, for we are now
able to explore the physiological and molecular basis of
biological structures through the development of tech­
niques that allow us to examine the chemical make-up
of living tissues under the microscope. It is now becom­
ing clear why various biological structures are shaped and
arranged as they are.
Histology was once an empirical subject
The study of histology began with the development of
simple light microscopes and techniques for preparing
thin slices of biological material to make them suitable
for examination. Despite their simple equipment and
somewhat inadequately prepared material, early histolo­
gists learned a surprising amount about the structure
of biological material. Such studies led Virchow to pro­
pound his cellular theory of the structure of living organ­
isms that established the cell as the basic building block
of most biological material. Each cell was considered as
an individual unit surrounded by a wall called the cell
membrane and containing within it all of the machinery
for its function. In those early years a vocabulary of his­
tology was developed, based on light microscopic analysis
of cells and accompanied by a limited understanding of
cell physiology and function.
Collections of cells having similar morphological char­
acteristics were described as forming tissues. These were
originally subdivided into four types:
• Epithelial tissues, or cells which cover surfaces, line
body cavities or form solid glands such as salivary
glands
• Muscular tissues, or cells with contractile
properties
• Nervous tissues referred to cells forming the brain,
spinal cord and nerves
• Connective tissue, or cells that produce an extra­
cellular matrix and serve to link or support other
specialized tissues by forming tendons, bones or
fatty tissue.
Modern histology is a precise science
Modern investigative techniques have revolutionized
our understanding of cells. The techniques of electron
microscopy, cloning of cells in culture, protein sequenc­
ing and molecular genetics have also given unprecedented
insight into the working of cells.
Although improvements in knowledge and under­
standing have been matched in other sciences by the
rapid emergence of new vocabularies, this has not always
been the case in histology. For many years, the terms
and classifications that originated from early histological
studies were retained. With every new discovery about
the structure of living material, attempts were made to
force the new information into an old, often inappropri­
ate classification of cells and tissues.
Fortunately, this rigid histological system is now giving
way to a more exciting and functional approach, based
on our understanding of cell biology.
Cells are Basic Functional Units
Modern knowledge confirms Virchow’s correctness in
describing the cell as the basic unit of structure of most
living organisms.
Cells vary considerably. Although all cells in the
human body are ultimately derived from a single fertil­
ized egg, each cell develops structural attributes to suit
its function through the process of differentiation, and
is a considerably more sophisticated and complex unit
than was formerly suspected. Molecular biology has