Principal Tissues in the Human Body
Principal tissues in the human body
Colorado Christian University
Human Anatomy/Physiology
BIO201A
Principal tissues in the human body
The human body is contains four main tissue types. Tissues are a group of similar cells, formed in the embryo, that perform a specific function or group of functions. According to Patton and Thibodeau (2013), “There are four major or principal tissue types: epithelial, connective, muscle, and nervous” (p. 8). Each of these tissue types differ in the roles they perform, but the body needs all of them working together to fulfill structural and functional needs and maintain homeostasis. One can determine tissue type by examining and comparing shape and arrangement of cell structure, amount of matrix and the material within it, and location of the tissue. Analysis of the epithelial, connective, muscle and nervous tissues will grant information to the audience, which will provide them with a better understanding of what differentiates these tissues, their locations, and what their functions are in the human body.
Epithelial tissues can be one of several types of cell shapes and arrangements and forming either sheets or glands. The first of these are simple squamous, cuboidal, columnar epithelium. Simple refers to a singular layer of cells and squamous (flat), cuboidal (cube-like), and columnar (cells are taller than they are wide) refer to the shape of the cells. Next comes stratified (multiple layers), pseudo-stratified (one layer that appears to be multiple layers), and transitional (multiple layers of cells than can contract or expand) arrangements. Epithelial tissues are located in parts of the body such as the outer layer of skin, glands of the body, and the lining of respiratory, digestive, urinary, and reproductive tracts. Epithelium typically has very little extracellular matrix, and the cells are large, which is necessary for the amount of work they perform, and cells are typically very close together.
Colorado Christian University
Human Anatomy/Physiology
BIO201A
Principal tissues in the human body
The human body is contains four main tissue types. Tissues are a group of similar cells, formed in the embryo, that perform a specific function or group of functions. According to Patton and Thibodeau (2013), “There are four major or principal tissue types: epithelial, connective, muscle, and nervous” (p. 8). Each of these tissue types differ in the roles they perform, but the body needs all of them working together to fulfill structural and functional needs and maintain homeostasis. One can determine tissue type by examining and comparing shape and arrangement of cell structure, amount of matrix and the material within it, and location of the tissue. Analysis of the epithelial, connective, muscle and nervous tissues will grant information to the audience, which will provide them with a better understanding of what differentiates these tissues, their locations, and what their functions are in the human body.
Epithelial tissues can be one of several types of cell shapes and arrangements and forming either sheets or glands. The first of these are simple squamous, cuboidal, columnar epithelium. Simple refers to a singular layer of cells and squamous (flat), cuboidal (cube-like), and columnar (cells are taller than they are wide) refer to the shape of the cells. Next comes stratified (multiple layers), pseudo-stratified (one layer that appears to be multiple layers), and transitional (multiple layers of cells than can contract or expand) arrangements. Epithelial tissues are located in parts of the body such as the outer layer of skin, glands of the body, and the lining of respiratory, digestive, urinary, and reproductive tracts. Epithelium typically has very little extracellular matrix, and the cells are large, which is necessary for the amount of work they perform, and cells are typically very close together.