BIO 210 Laboratory Manual

Chapter 4: Tissues

Cells are the building blocks of life. In humans and other multicellular organ isms, cells depend
on one another and cooperate to maintain homeostasis in the body.
With a few exceptions, even the most complex animal starts out as a single cell, the fertilized
egg, which divides almost endlessly. The resulting trillions of cells then specialize for a particular
function. Some become supportive bone, others skin cells, and so on. Thus, a division of labor
exists, with certain groups of cells highly specialized to perform functions that benefit the
organism as a whole. Cell specialization provides for sophisticated functions but involves certain
hazards, because when a small, specific group of cells is indispensable, any inability to function
on its part can paralyze or destroy the entire body.
Groups of cells that are similar in structure and function are called tissues. The four primary
tissue types—epithelial, connective, muscular, and nervous— have distinct structures, patterns,
and functions.
To perform specific body functions, the tissues are organized into organs such as the heart,
kidneys, and lungs. Most organs contain several representatives of the primary tissues, and the
arrangement of these tissues determines the organ’s structure and function. The main
objective of this exercise is to familiarize you with the major similarities and dissimilarities of
the primary tissues.

Exercise 1: Complete the following related to tissues.

Define tissue:

Use the key choices to identify the major tissue types described below.

Epithelium Connective Muscular Nervous

____________________ 1. Lines body cavities and covers the body’s external surface

____________________2. Pumps blood, flushes urine out of the body, allows one to swing a bat

____________________3. Transmits waves of excitation

____________________4. Anchors and packages body organs

____________________5. Cells may absorb, protect, or for a filtering membrane

____________________6. Most involved in regulating body functions quickly

____________________7. Major function is to contract

____________________8. Most durable of tissue types

____________________9. Abundant nonliving extracellular matrix

____________________10. Forms nerves

Epithelial Tissue

Epithelial tissues, or epithelia, cover or line surfaces. For example, epithelia cover the external
body surface (as the epidermis), line its cavities, and generally mark off our “insides” from our
outsides. Because glands of the body almost always develop from epithelial membranes, glands
too are classed as epithelia.
Epithelial functions include protection, absorption, filtration, excretion, secretion, and
sometimes sensory reception. For example, the epithelium covering the body protects against
bacterial invasion and chemical damage; that lining the respiratory tract is ciliated to sweep
dust and other foreign particles away from the lungs. Secretion is a specialty of the glands, and
taste receptors are epithelial cells.
Epithelia generally exhibit these characteristics:
 Cells fit closely together to form membranes, or sheets of cells, and are bound together
by specialized junctions.
 The membranes always have one exposed surface or free edge, called the apical
surface.
 The cells are attached to and supported by an adhesive basement membrane, a
material secreted collectively by the epithelial cells and the connective tissue cells that
lie next to each other.
 Epithelial tissues have no blood supply of their own (are avascular), but depend on
diffusion of nutrients from the underlying connective tissue. (The exception is glandular
epithelial tissue, which is very vascular.)
 If well nourished, epithelial cells can easily regenerate themselves. This is an important
characteristic because many epithelia are subjected to a good deal of friction and other
types of trauma.
The covering and lining epithelia are classified according to two criteria—relative number of
layers and cell shape (height.) In regard to the number of layers, epithelia are classified as
follows:
 Simple epithelia consist of one layer of cells attached to the basement membrane.
 Stratified epithelia consist of two or more layers of cells.

Based on cell shape, epithelia are classified into three categories:

 Squamous (scalelike)
 Cuboidal (cubelike)
 Columnar (column-shaped)

Number of Cell Layers Cell Shape

The terms denoting shape and arrangement of the epithelial cells are combined to describe the
epithelium fully. Stratified epithelia are named according to the cells at the apical surface of the
epithelial membrane, not those resting on the basement membrane.
There are also two less easily categorized types of epithelia. Pseudostratified epithelium is
actually a simple columnar epithelium (one layer of cells with all cells attached to the basement
membrane), but its cells extend varied distances from the basement membrane, so it gives the
false appearance of being stratified. Transitional epithelium is a rather peculiar stratified
squamous epithelium formed of rounded, or “plump,” cells with the ability to slide over one
another to allow the organ to be stretched. Transitional epithelium is found only in urinary
system organs. The superficial cells are flattened (like true squamous cells) when the organ is
distended, or full, and are rounded when the organ is empty.
Exercise 2: Use your notes to complete the following chart on Epithelial Tissues (ET).

Epithelial Tissue Type Cell layer Shape of Functions Locations

number the apical
surface
cells

Simple squamous

Simple cuboidal

Simple columnar

Psuedostratified columnar
 Stratified squamous

Transitional

Exercise 3: Epithelium

Use the key choices to identify the major epithelial tissue types described below.

pseudostratified columnar simple cuboidal stratified squamous

simple columnar simple squamous transitional

____________________ 1. Best suited for the areas subject to friction

____________________ 2. Propels substances across its surface
____________________ 3. Most suited for rapid diffusion
____________________ 4. Tubules of the kidneys
____________________ 5. Lines much of the respiratory tract
____________________ 6. Stretches - distensibility
____________________ 7. Lines the small and large intestines
____________________ 8. Lining of the esophagus
____________________ 9. Lining of the bladder
____________________ 10. Alveolar sacs (air sacs) of the lungs
Connective Tissue
Connective tissue is found in all parts of the body. It is the most abundant and widely
distributed of the tissue types.
The connective tissues perform a variety of functions, but they primarily protect, support, and
bind together other tissues of the body. For example, bones are composed of connective tissue
(bone or osseous tissue), and they protect and support other body tissues and organs.
Ligaments and tendons (dense regular connective tissue) bind the bones together or bind
skeletal muscles to bones. Connective tissue also serves a vital function in the repair of all body
tissues: many wounds are repaired by connective tissue in the form of scar tissue.
Connective tissues are composed of many types of cells, and there is a great deal of nonliving
material between the cells. The nonliving material between the cells—the extra cellular matrix
—distinguishes connective tissue from all other tissues. The matrix, secreted by the cells, is
primarily responsible for the strength associated with connective tissue, but its firmness and
relative amount vary.
The matrix has two components—ground substance and fibers. The ground substance is chiefly
glycoproteins and large polysaccharide molecules. Depending on its makeup, the ground
substance may be liquid, gel-like, or very hard. When the matrix is firm, as in cartilage and
bone, the connective tis sue cells reside in cavities in the matrix called lacunae. The fibers,
which provide support, include collagenic (white) fibers, elastic (yellow) fibers, and reticular
(fine collagenic) fibers.

Exercise 4: Use your notes to complete the following chart on Connective Tissues (CT).

Connective Tissue Type Matrix Specialized Types Functions Locations

type cells of
fibers

Bone CT (osseous)

Hyaline cartilage
Fibrocartilage

Elastic cartilage

Dense CT

Areolar connective tissue

Adipose connective tissue

 Reticular connective tissue

Blood (vascular) connective tissue

Exercise 5: Connective

Use the key choices to identify the major connective tissue types described below.

adipose reticular fibrocartilage areolar

blood dense osseous (bone) hyaline cartilage

____________________ 1. Attaches bones to bones (ligaments) and muscles to bones (tendons)

____________________ 2. Forms your hip bone
____________________ 3. Composes basement membranes; soft packaging tissue with jelly-like matrix
____________________ 4. Forms the larynx and the costal cartilage of the ribs
____________________ 5. Firm matrix heavily invaded with fibers; appears glassy and smooth
____________________ 6. Matrix hard; provides levers for the muscles to act on
____________________ 7. Insulates against heat loss; provides reserve fuel
____________________ 8. Makes up the intervertebral discs
____________________ 9.
____________________ 10.
Muscle Tissue
Muscle tissue is specialized to contract (shorten) to produce movement of some body parts. As
you might expect, muscle cells are elongated to provide a long axis for contraction.
Skeletal muscle, the “meat,” or flesh, of the body, is attached to the skeleton. It is under
voluntary control (consciously controlled). As it contracts, it moves the limbs and other external
body parts. Skeletal muscle cells are long, cylindrical, and multinucleate (several nuclei per cell);
they have obvious striations (stripes).
Cardiac muscle is found only in the heart. As it contracts, the heart acts as a pump, propelling
the blood into the blood vessels. Like skeletal muscle, it has striations, but cardiac cells are
branching cells with one nucleus (or occasionally two) that fit together at junctions called
intercalated discs that allow cardiac muscle to act as a unit. Cardiac muscle is under involuntary
control, which means that we cannot voluntarily or consciously control the operation of the
heart.
Smooth muscle is found mainly in the walls of all hollow organs (digestive and urinary tract
organs, uterus, blood vessels) except the heart. Typically, two layers run at right angles to each
other, so the muscle can constrict or dilate the lumen (cavity) of an organ and also propel
substances along existing pathways. No striations are visible, and the uninucleate smooth
muscle cells are spindle-shaped. Smooth muscle is under involuntary control.
Exercise 6: Use your notes to complete the following chart on Muscle Tissues (MT) and then answer the
following questions.

Muscle Tissue Type Striated One Location Type of

or Nucleus or Nervous
Non- Many Control
Striated Nuclei

Skeletal MT

Cardiac MT

Smooth MT
Exercise 7: Muscular

Use the key choices to identify the major muscular tissue types described below.

skeletal smooth cardiac

____________________ 1. Striated
____________________ 2. Branching cells
____________________ 3. Spindle-shaped cells
____________________ 4. Cylindrical cells
____________________ 5. Active in the uterus during child birth
____________________ 6. Voluntary control
____________________ 7. Involuntary control
____________________ 8. One nucleus (uninucleated)
____________________ 9. Many nuclei (multinucleated)
____________________ 10. Forms the heart wall
____________________ 11. Attached to bones
____________________ 12. Intercalated discs found
____________________ 13. Found in the wall of the urinary bladder and stomach
____________________ 14. Moves limbs, produces eye blinks
____________________ 15. Arranged in sheets
Nervous Tissue
Nervous tissue is composed of two major cell populations. Neuroglia are special supporting
cells that protect, support, and insulate the more delicate neurons. The neurons are highly
specialized to receive stimuli and to conduct impulses to all parts of the body. They are the cells
that are most often associated with nervous system functioning.
Neurons all have a nucleus-containing cell body, and their cytoplasm is drawn out into long
extensions (cell processes)—sometimes as long as 3 feet (about 1 m), a characteristic that
allows a single neuron to conduct an impulse over relatively long distances.

Exercise 8: Complete the following concerning nervous tissue.

What nervous tissue cells support, protect, support and insulate neurons: ________________________
Name the three major parts of a neuron: _________________, _________________, _______________

Exercise 7: Visual Analogy Guide

Read and complete the following pages in the Visual Analogy Guide (third edition).

Pages 94 – 107 Review epithelial tissues

Pages 108 – 127 Review connective tissues
Pages 128 – 133 Review muscular tissues
Pages 134 – 135 Review nervous tissue