Chapter 7 Animal Tissues

Types of Animal Tissues

Epithelial Tissue - closely positioned polygonal cells, little or no intercellular materials, Line
body surfaces or form glands
Functions:
- protects the body from potential infectious agents (example: skin)
- absorption of nutrients (example: intestines)
- sensation (example: neuroepithelium)
Epithelial cells are:
- compactly arranged
- avascular
- form membranes and glands
- associated with a basement membrane & lamina/tunica propria

✓ thin connective tissue

✓ part of mucus membranes
✓ in respiratory, GI, urogenital tracts

Epithelial tissues are classified according to:

1) Number of cell layers: simple or stratified
2) Shape of cells on free surface: squamous, cuboidal, or columnar
3) Surface specialization: cilia, keratin, goblet cell, or brush border

Types of Epithelium
1) Simple Epithelium - Made up of only 1 layer of cells, Shapes could either be squamous,
cuboidal, or
 a) Simple squamous - found in endothelium of blood vessels, alveoli, & mesothelium
that covers the body cavities; thin and flat cells of irregular outline; cells are fitted
together closely forming continuous sheet
b) Simple cuboidal - box or cube-shaped cells; characteristic of linings of the kidneys
and cilia of the lungs; found in surfaces of ovary
c) Simple columnar - cylindrical, tall, and narrow cells; with goblet cells that secrete
mucus; striated borders; found in the stomach, intestines, gall bladder etc
2) Stratified Epithelium - Made of more than 1 layer of cells; According to the shape of its
topmost layer, it can either be squamous, cuboidal, columnar, transitional, or pseudostratified
a) Stratified squamous epithelium - Can either be: keratinized (e.g. dry surfaces of the
skin) or non-keratinized (e.g. those found in wet surfaces); has protective function due to
its multi layer; Keratin layer gives additional protection from bacterial infection,
dessication, & breakage
b) Stratified cuboidal epithelium - not common; in excretory ducts of salivary and
sweat glands
c) Stratified columnar epithelium - found in the ocular conjunctiva and salivary gland
ducts in humans
d) Transitional epithelium - lines the urinary bladder, ureter, & upper part of urethra;
cells can change in form depending on the degree of distension of the bladder
e) Pseudostratified epithelium - cells where nuclei are positioned in different levels;
gives impression that the membrane is composed of more than 1 layer; found in the
respiratory tract
3) Glandular Epithelium - formed by cells specialized to produce secretion molecules classified
according to:
a) According to number of cells:
- unicellular (made of isolated glandular glands) such as Goblet cells or
- multicellular (made of cluster of cells)
b) Based on morphology or shape:
- simple (with only 1 unbranched duct) such as sweat gland & gastric gland
- compound (ducts that repeatedly branch) such as salivary gland & pancreas
- saccular (with sac- like structure that invaginates) such as mammary gland
c) According to histological characteristics:
- serous (e.g. parotid & lacrimal glands)
- mucous (e.g. sublingual glands)
- mixed serous-mucus (mucus cells capped with mucus cells called serous
demilunes (e.g. submandibular and lingual glands)
d) Based on presence/absence of excretory ducts:
- endocrine (secretes substances directly into the bloodstream); found in Beta
cells of the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas
- exocrine (sebaceous glands secreting sebum; mammary glands secreting milk)
e) According to the integrity of secretory cells:
- holocrine (cells that suffer complete destruction in the process of secretion);
sebaceous glands
 - apocrine (cells that suffer partial destruction in the process of secretion);
mammary glands
- Merocrine (integrity of the cells is maintained); sweat glands

Connective Tissue - Consists of the actual connective tissue cells, protein fibers (e.g. collagen
and elastin), & stromal components (e.g. matrix) Function for:
- support
- protection
- transport
- insulation
- tissue repair
- hematopoiesis
- immunologic reactions

Types of Connective Tissues

1) Collagenous connective tissue - predominantly made up of type I collagen; most abundant
in the human body (90% of total collagen); Found in loose CT in the fasciae (in skin), dense
regular CT in tendons, & dense irregular CT in periosteum (in bone), & ligaments
2) Reticular connective tissue - primarily formed by type III collagen (fibrillar type of collagen);
Major component of hollow organs such as blood vessels, uterus, etc, Ex. Adipose tissue, basal
lamina, stroma (supportive framework) of glandular organs
3) Elastic connective tissue - primarily formed by type II collagen (major component of
cartilage), contains retractile fibers with elastin, often found in bronchi, trachea, blood vessels, &
hollow organs

Connective Tissues With Special Properties

1) Adipose connective tissue - For insulation, fat storage, mechanical support
2) Mucous connective tissue - Found in pulp of young teeth & in the umbilical cord

Specialized Connective Tissues

1) Blood & lymph - are important for transport of nutrients, gas exchange, homeostasis
immunity, waste removal, and hormonal transport
2) Cartilage - has a rigid matrix but is still pliable & elastic due t collagen & elastic fibers;
provides structural support & a degree of flexibility; avascular

Muscular Tissue - primary tissue for locomotion; characteristically elongated as an adaptation

for contraction; sarcoplasm (cytoplasm of the muscle fiber) is fibrillar due to the myofibrils
(rod-like organelles)

Types of Muscle Tissues

1) Skeletal muscle - very long, cylindrical, multinucleated cells; capable of quick and forceful
contractions that are usually voluntary
2) Cardiac muscle - elongated, branched individual cells parallel to each other; capable of
involuntary, vigorous, rhythmic contractions; adjacent cells are connected by intercalated disks;
in the heart
3) Smooth muscle - collection of cells that do not show cross-striations; largest at midpoint &
tapers toward the end (fusiform); low contraction; involuntary; in digestive tubes/intestines

Nervous Tissue - functions to receive information from the environment or other nerve cells;
process information; send information to other neurons or effector tissues
Classification of Neuron
1) According to function
a. Sensory neurons carry information obtained from the interior of the body and the
environment to the central nervous system (CNS)
b. Motor neurons carry impulses from the CNS to effector organs commanded by these
centers

Simple Reflex

2) According to neurotransmitters or chemical messengers that modify neuron

sensitivity to synaptic stimulation or inhibition
a. dopaminergic (dopamine as neurotransmitter b. serotonergic (serotonin)
c. glutametergic (glutamate)
d. cholinergic (acetylcholine)
e. adrenergic (epinephrine and norepinephrine)
f. GABA-minergic (gamma-aminobutyric acid
3) According to the number of processes
a. unipolar
b. bipolar
c. multipolar
4) According to length of processes
a. projection neurons
b. interneurons

A Neuron
A Synapse

synapse is a point of contact between neurons; information is passed; occurs between axons
and dendrites
Astrocytes - star-shaped cells with multiple radiating processes; composed of bundles of
intermediate filaments; made of glial fibrillary acid protein that reinforce their structure; binds
neurons to their capillaries and to the pia matter (delicate membrane surrounding brain & spinal
cord