Chapter 3 - Cell Shapes

Question 1

What’s Squamous?

Answer 1

S:
Thin, flat, and shaped like a fried egg.

L:
In Blood vessels,
Lung alveoli,
Bowmen’s capsule of the kidney

F:
Diffusion,
Osmosis,
Filtration.

Question 2

What’s Cuboidal?

Answer 2

S:
Squarish-looking and about equal in height and width.

L:
Kidney tubules,
Ducts of glands,
Choroid plexus (?)

F:
Secretion,
Absorption

Question 3

What’s Columnar?

Answer 3

S:
Taller than wide, like the inner lining cells of the stomach and intestines.

L:
GI tract,
Uterine tubes

F:
Absorption,
Secretion,
Protection

Special feature:
Cilia,
Microvilli,
Goblet cells

Question 4

What’s Polygonal?

Answer 4

Irregularly angular shaped, with four or more sides.

Question 5

What’s Stellate?

Answer 5

Starlike shape, the cell bodies of many nerves.

Question 6

What’s Spheroid to ovoid?

Answer 6

Round to oval, like eggs or WBCs.

Question 7

What’s Discoidal?

Answer 7

Disc-shaped, like RBCs.

Question 8

What’s Fusiform?

Answer 8

Spindle-shaped; elongated with thick middle and tapered ends, as in smooth muscle cells.

Question 9

What’s Fibrous?

Answer 9

Long, slender, and threadlike, as in skeletal muscle cells.