Category Histology

Cartilage and bone are both specialized connective tissues that function in supporting parts of the body. The former has a firm pliable matrix that resists mechanical stresses; the latter is one of the hardest tissues of the body, and protects…

Connective tissue is derived from mesoderm , the middle germ layer of the embryonic tissue, except in certain areas of the head and neck, where mesenchyme develops from neural crest cells of the developing embryo and is known as ectomesenchyme…

Epithelium Epithelial tissue forms two distinct structural and functional forms: sheets of contiguous cells ( epithelia ), which cover the external and internal surfaces of the body, and clusters of cells ( glands ), which originate from invaginated epithelial cells.…

Cells of similar structure and function assemble to form structural and functional associations, known as tissues , in all multicellular organisms. Groups of these tissues are assembled in various organizational and functional arrangements into organs , which carry out functions…

Summary The nucleus , the largest organelle of the cell, houses the nucleoplasm , nucleolus, and the chromatin . The nucleus is separated from the cytoplasm by a double membrane, known as the nuclear envelope , which is perforated by…

The basic functional unit of complex organisms is the cell. Cells that have or serve a common purpose congregate to form tissues, which, in animals — specifically, mammals — are placed in four categories (epithelium, connective tissue, muscle, and nervous…

Although histology is the microscopic study of tissues of living organisms, be they animals or plants, this textbook discusses only mammalian—more specifically, human—tissues. However, the term has evolved to have a broader concept, named microscopic anatomy , because its subject…