Intro Flashcards
Tissues
collections of cells having similar morphological characteristics
Epithelial tissue
cells that cover surfaces, line body cavities or form solid glands
Muscular tissue
cells with contractile properties
Nervous tissues
cells forming the brain, spinal cord and nerves
Connective tissue
wide range of living material characterized by dominant extracellular matrix component and associated cells that produce this. Acts as supporting stroma serving more highly specialised cell types.
includes bone, cartilage, tendon, fibrous tissue, adipose tissue, bone marrow & blood.
Simple tissue
contains cells of same structure and function.
Compound tissue
contains mixture of cells with different functions eg. nervous tissue made up of nerve cells (neurons), support cells (astrocytes), immune cells (microglia) and epithelial cells (ependyma).
organ
anatomically distinct group of tissues (several types) which perform specific functions.
system
cells with similar function but widely distributed in several anatomical sites;
group of organs that have similar/related functional roles.
Light microscopy
- Tissue mounted on glass slide as thin preparation
- Stained with appropriate dye
- Illuminated by light
- Viewed using glass lens
Histology, or histopathology if biopsy from diseased tissue being studied.
Cytology
analysis of fine structure of cells by light microscopy.
Electron microscopy
beam of electrons fired at specimen
greatly increases resolution compared to light microscopy.
subcellular composition of cells defined.
Immunohistochemical methods
antibodies are applied to specific cell constituents to visualise details within cells at the light-microscopic level that aren’t visible by other techniques.
What is the most commonly used dye/stain?
Haematoxylin and Eoisin
What colour does H&E (Haematoxylin) stain nuclei?
Blue
