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Kartik tutorial classes 9414729081

DETAILED NOTES ON TISSUES
1. INTRODUCTION TO TISSUES
Definition: A tissue is a group of cells that are similar in structure and/or work together to
achieve a particular function.
Why Tissues?
 In unicellular organisms (like Amoeba), one cell does everything
 In multicellular organisms, millions of cells exist with specialized functions
 This is called division of labour - different cells do different jobs efficiently
 Examples: muscle cells for movement, nerve cells for messages, blood for transport
2. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PLANT AND ANIMAL TISSUES
Feature Plants Animals

Movement Stationary/fixed Move around

Supportive tissue Large quantity, mostly dead cells Less, mostly living cells

Energy
Less More
consumption

Limited to certain regions

Growth pattern Uniform throughout body
(meristematic)

Highly specialized and

Organ system Less specialized
localized

3. PLANT TISSUES
A. MERISTEMATIC TISSUE (Growing/Dividing Tissue)
Characteristics:
 Cells are very active
 Dense cytoplasm
 Thin cellulose walls
 Prominent nuclei
 Lack vacuoles (because they need space for active division)
 Can divide throughout plant's life
Types based on location:
1. Apical Meristem
 Location: Growing tips of stems and roots
 Function: Increases length of stem and root
2. Lateral Meristem (Cambium)
 Location: Sides of stem and root
 Function: Increases girth (thickness)
3. Intercalary Meristem
 Location: Near the nodes (in some plants)
 Function: Growth at nodes
B. PERMANENT TISSUE
Formation: Meristematic cells lose ability to divide → take permanent shape, size, and
function → called differentiation
i) SIMPLE PERMANENT TISSUE (Made of one type of cell)
1. PARENCHYMA
 Structure:
 Relatively unspecialized cells
 Thin cell walls
 Living cells
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Kartik tutorial classes 9414729081
 Loosely arranged with large intercellular spaces
 Functions:
 Food storage
 Chlorenchyma: Contains chlorophyll, performs photosynthesis
 Aerenchyma: Has air cavities in aquatic plants to help them float
2. COLLENCHYMA
 Structure:
 Living cells
 Elongated cells
 Irregularly thickened at corners
 Very little intercellular space
 Functions:
 Provides flexibility to plants
 Allows bending without breaking (tendrils, stems of climbers)
 Provides mechanical support
 Found in leaf stalks below epidermis
3. SCLERENCHYMA
 Structure:
 Dead cells
 Long and narrow
 Walls thickened with lignin
 Walls so thick, no internal space
 No intercellular space
 Functions:
 Makes plant hard and stiff
 Provides strength
 Example: coconut husk
 Found in: stems, around vascular bundles, veins of leaves, hard covering of
seeds and nuts
4. EPIDERMIS
 Structure:
 Usually single layer of cells
 Forms continuous layer without intercellular spaces
 Relatively flat cells
 Outer and side walls thicker than inner wall
 May be thicker in dry habitats
 Special Features:
 Secretes waxy, water-resistant layer on aerial parts
 Contains stomata (pores) enclosed by guard cells (kidney-shaped)
 Root epidermis has long hair-like parts for water absorption
 Desert plants have thick waxy cutin coating
 Functions:
 Protection of all plant parts
 Protection against water loss
 Protection against mechanical injury
 Protection against parasitic fungi
 Gas exchange (through stomata)
 Transpiration (through stomata)
 Water absorption (root hairs)
5. CORK
 Structure:
 Dead cells
 Compactly arranged
 No intercellular spaces
 Contains suberin in walls
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Kartik tutorial classes 9414729081
 Functions:
 Protective tissue in older plants
 Impervious to gases and water
ii) COMPLEX PERMANENT TISSUE (Made of more than one type of cell)
1. XYLEM (Conducting tissue)
 Components:
1. Tracheids: Thick walls, dead when mature, tubular
2. Vessels: Thick walls, dead when mature, tubular
3. Xylem parenchyma: Stores food
4. Xylem fibres: Provide support
 Functions:
 Transports water and minerals vertically (upward)
 Provides mechanical support
2. PHLOEM (Conducting tissue)
 Components:
1. Sieve cells
2. Sieve tubes: Tubular cells with perforated walls
3. Companion cells
4. Phloem fibres: Only dead cells in phloem
5. Phloem parenchyma
 Functions:
 Transports food from leaves to other parts (downward)
 All cells except fibres are living
Vascular Bundle: Xylem + Phloem together

4. ANIMAL TISSUES
A. EPITHELIAL TISSUE (Covering/Protective Tissue)
General Characteristics:
 Cells tightly packed
 Form continuous sheet
 Small amount of cementing material
 Almost no intercellular spaces
 Separated from underlying tissue by basement membrane
 Regulates exchange of materials
Types:
1. SQUAMOUS EPITHELIUM
 Simple squamous: Extremely thin and flat, single layer
 Location: Blood vessels, lung alveoli
 Function: Allows transport through permeable surface
 Stratified squamous: Many layers
 Location: Skin, mouth lining, oesophagus
 Function: Protection against wear and tear
2. CUBOIDAL EPITHELIUM
 Cube-shaped cells
 Location: Kidney tubules, salivary gland ducts
 Function: Mechanical support
3. COLUMNAR EPITHELIUM
 Tall, pillar-like cells
 Location: Inner lining of intestine
 Function: Absorption and secretion
 Ciliated columnar: Has cilia (hair-like projections)
 Location: Respiratory tract
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Kartik tutorial classes 9414729081
 Function: Movement of mucus
4. GLANDULAR EPITHELIUM
 Specialized epithelial cells
 Function: Secretion of substances
B. CONNECTIVE TISSUE
General Characteristics:
 Cells loosely spaced
 Embedded in intercellular matrix
 Matrix can be jelly-like, fluid, dense, or rigid
Types:
1. BLOOD
 Matrix: Plasma (fluid) - contains proteins, salts, hormones
 Components: RBCs, WBCs, Platelets
 Functions:
 Transports gases, food, hormones, waste
 Flows throughout body
2. BONE
 Matrix: Hard, composed of calcium and phosphorus compounds
 Characteristics: Strong, non-flexible
 Functions:
 Forms body framework
 Supports body
 Anchors muscles
 Supports main organs
3. LIGAMENT
 Very elastic
 Considerable strength
 Very little matrix
 Function: Connects bones to bones
4. TENDON
 Fibrous tissue
 Great strength
 Limited flexibility
 Function: Connects muscles to bones
5. CARTILAGE
 Widely spaced cells
 Matrix: Proteins and sugars
 Locations: Nose, ear, trachea, larynx, bone joints
 Functions:
 Smoothens bone surfaces at joints
 Provides flexible support
6. AREOLAR TISSUE
 Locations: Between skin and muscles, around blood vessels and nerves, bone
marrow
 Functions:
 Fills space inside organs
 Supports internal organs
 Helps in tissue repair
7. ADIPOSE TISSUE
 Cells filled with fat globules
 Locations: Below skin, between internal organs
 Functions:
 Stores fat
 Acts as insulator
C. MUSCULAR TISSUE
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Kartik tutorial classes 9414729081
General Characteristics:
 Consists of elongated cells (muscle fibres)
 Contains contractile proteins
 Responsible for movement
Types:
1. STRIATED/SKELETAL/VOLUNTARY MUSCLES
 Structure:
 Long, cylindrical, unbranched
 Multinucleate (many nuclei)
 Shows alternate light and dark bands (striations)
 Location: Attached to bones, limbs
 Control: Voluntary (conscious will)
 Function: Body movement
2. SMOOTH/INVOLUNTARY/UNSTRIATED MUSCLES
 Structure:
 Spindle-shaped (pointed ends)
 Uninucleate (single nucleus)
 No striations
 Location: Alimentary canal, blood vessels, iris, ureters, bronchi
 Control: Involuntary
 Function: Movements we cannot control
3. CARDIAC MUSCLES
 Structure:
 Cylindrical, branched
 Uninucleate
 Striated
 Location: Heart only
 Control: Involuntary
 Function: Rhythmic contraction and relaxation throughout life
D. NERVOUS TISSUE
Components:
 Cells called neurons (nerve cells)
Structure of Neuron:
 Cell body with nucleus and cytoplasm
 Axon: Single long fiber (process)
 Dendrites: Many short branched parts
 Can be up to a meter long
Functions:
 Highly specialized for receiving stimuli
 Transmitting stimulus rapidly
 Nerve impulses pass from nerve endings to dendrites of next cell
 Control muscle movement
 Found in: Brain, spinal cord, nerves
Functional Combination: Nerve + muscle tissue enables rapid movement in response to
stimuli

Functions of
1. PARENCHYMA
 Storage of food
 Photosynthesis (when it contains chlorophyll - chlorenchyma)
 Provides buoyancy to aquatic plants (aerenchyma with air cavities)
 Provides turgidity to plant parts
 Helps in gaseous exchange (intercellular spaces)
2. COLLENCHYMA
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Kartik tutorial classes 9414729081
 Provides flexibility to plant parts (allows bending without breaking)
 Provides mechanical support to young stems and leaf stalks
 Helps in growth of plant parts like tendrils and climbers
 Found below the epidermis in dicot stems and leaf stalks
3. SCLERENCHYMA
 Provides mechanical strength and rigidity to plant parts
 Makes plants hard and stiff
 Provides protection (hard covering of seeds and nuts)
 Provides structural support to stems, vascular bundles, and leaf veins
4. XYLEM
 Transports water and minerals from roots to all parts of the plant (upward
transport)
 Provides mechanical support to the plant (due to lignified walls)
 Conducts water vertically through tubular structures (tracheids and vessels)
 Stores food (xylem parenchyma)