Block 8
Body Tissues Essay
There are four major categories of tissues in the human body. Each of them separate into even smaller groups with specific structures and functions. The four major types are epithelial tissue, connective tissue, muscle tissue and cardiac tissue. They are all necessities of the human body and contribute to many functions our bodies and cells carry out in order to survive. Tissues interact and group together to make up organs which then compose systems and the human body all together. One of the biggest groups is the epithelial tissues. There are several different kinds of epithelial tissue cells and they all have different structures. Epithelial tissues are divided into simple and stratified tissue cells. Simple tissue cells are cells that are in a single layer while stratified cells have multiple layers making the tissues thick. Then there are three kinds of specific shapes these cells can have: squamous, cuboidal and columnar. Squamous cells are square shaped and flattened. Cuboidal cells are cube-shaped while columnar cells are elongated and rectangular. Therefore, all of the epithelial tissues are simple squamous, simple cuboidal, simple columnar, stratified squamous, stratified cuboidal and stratified columnar but that’s not all! Another kind of epithelial tissue cell is known as pseudo-stratified columnar which appears to have layers but really doesn’t. There is also transitional epithelial and its shape changes depending on increased and decreased tension.
These tissues are located in all kinds of places of the body. Simple squamous tissue is found in the lungs, lining of the heart and external covering around organs. Simple cuboidal tissue is found in ducts, kidney tubules and glands. Simple columnar tissue is located in larger ducts and the digestive system. Stratified squamous tissue is located on the surface of the skin and lining of the mouth, esophagus, rectum, anus and vagina. Stratified