Intro to Histology Flashcards
Lect 2 Week 1 Basu
What is histology?
microanatomy
What is histopathology?
The study of changes in the microscopic anatomy, caused by a disease
What must you use when handling formalin?
GLOVES
What ratio do you use when you are preserving a sample?
1:10 ratio of sample to solution
What does fixation of a sample do?
It hardens and preserves tissue
Some tissue shrinkage occurs
What do you use to fixate a sample?
Formalin
What are the typical histology preparation steps? (6 steps)
Take sample
Fixation
Selection + trimming
Processing + embedding
Sectioning thin slices
Staining to make tissue structures visible
What does selection and trimming include during histology preparation?
Choose your orientation and cut surface
What does processing and embedding include during histology prep?
Replacing water with a solid medium e.g paraffin wax or resin
What solid mediums could you use during the processing and embedding step of histology prep?
Paraffin wax or resin - they replace the water
What is the standard stain?
Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E)
Describe the dye Haematoxylin:
it is purple/blue and can be considered a BASIC dye therefore it binds to acids e.g. nucleic acids
IT WILL STAIN THE NUCLEI BLUE
Describe the dye Eosin:
it is pink/red and is an acidic dye
and thus it binds to bases, most proteins in the cytoplasm are basic
What are immunohistochemical stains and what do they do?
They use antibodies to bind to a tissue-specific substance and there is a second labelled antibody to bind to first
What labels can be used to attach to the second antibody when using immunohistochemical stains?
Coloured dye or a fluorescent marker
What are the 4 tissue types of the body?
epithelium, connective, muscle, nervous tissue
What does all epithelium tissue rest on?
Basement membrane
Why do epithelial cells rely in diffusion for nutrition?
Because the blood and lymph vessels do not penetrate the basement membrane in which the epithelial cells rest on.
What does the basement membrane act as?
a selective barrier
What two major forms does the epithelium exist in?
surface and glandular
What is surface epithelium?
Sheets of aggregated cells of similar type, covers all EXTERNAL surfaces and lines all INTERNAL surfaces
What is glandular epithelium?
Results from proliferation of surface epithelial cells into underlying tissue and forms secretory cells of endocrine and exocrine glands
What are the three types of surface epithelium?
simple, stratified, pseudostratified
What are the three types of simple surface epithelium?
Squamous, cuboidal, columnar
What are the four types of stratified surface epithelium?
Squamous, cuboidal, columnar, transitional
What is simple surface epithelium?
single layer of cells on basement membrane
what is stratified surface epithelium?
2 or more layers of cells
What is pseudostratified surface epithelium?
appearance of layers but all of the cells are touching the basement membrane, however not every cell is reaching the surface
Function of simple surface epithelium?
As thin barrier e.g. lining of blood vessels, exchange of nutrients
Function of stratified surface epithelium?
Strong resistance to mechanical stress and forces. Increased strength by adding more cells. In physical strength and wear e.g. skin
Describe squamous shape of cells?
scale-like, flat wide cells with greater width than height
Describe cuboidal shape cells?
Cube-shaped, similar height and width
Describe columnar shaped cells?
Height greater than width
Describe transitional shaped cells?
SPECIAL FORM
when epithelium is stretched the cells look squamous
when epithelium relaxed the cells look cuboidal