Human A&PBIO 304 · American River College ← Week 2 pre-work

BIO 304 · Week 2 · Interactive Workbook

Epithelial Tissue Classification

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Part 1 of 4 · Recall

Fill in the blanks

Type the term that completes each statement, using the word bank. Pull it from memory first.

Word bank

SquamousCuboidalSimplePseudostratifiedTransitionalSimple cuboidalPseudostratified ciliated columnarTransitional (urothelium)ExocrineUnicellular glandMerocrineApocrineApical surfaceAvascular

  1. flat, scale-like cells; thin barrier for diffusion
  2. cube-shaped; secretion and absorption
  3. one cell layer; thin enough for transport
  4. one layer but nuclei at different heights, looks layered
  5. changes shape with stretch; only in urinary tract
  6. kidney tubules, gland ducts
  7. upper airway · mucus + cilia escalator
  8. bladder, ureters · stretch without leaking
  9. secretes through a duct to a surface (sweat, salivary, mammary)
  10. a single secretory cell (goblet cell → mucus)
  11. exocytosis only; cell intact (sweat glands, salivary, pancreas)
  12. apical portion of cell pinches off (mammary, some sweat)
  13. top, faces lumen or surface; may have cilia or microvilli
  14. no blood vessels in the tissue; nourished by diffusion

Define it: high-yield vocabulary

Write a clear definition in your own words for each term.

  1. Epithelial tissue
  2. Apical surface
  3. Basement membrane
  4. Simple epithelium
  5. Stratified epithelium
  6. Squamous cell
  7. Cuboidal cell
  8. Columnar cell
  9. Gland
  10. Avascular

Part 2 of 4 · Anatomy lab

Draw and label

Box A. The six basic epithelial types (3 by 2 matrix)

Directions

  1. Draw a 3-by-2 grid. Columns are cell shape: Squamous (flat), Cuboidal (square), Columnar (tall). Rows are layers: Simple (one layer), Stratified (many layers).
  2. In each cell of the grid, sketch the tissue. Show the basement membrane as a thin dark line at the bottom.
  3. Inside each sketch, write ONE typical location (e.g., simple squamous: alveoli; simple cuboidal: kidney tubules; simple columnar: small intestine; stratified squamous: skin epidermis; stratified cuboidal: large gland ducts; stratified columnar: rare, parts of male urethra).
  4. Cell nuclei should reflect the shape: round in cuboidal, oval in columnar, flat in squamous.
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Box B. Pseudostratified and transitional epithelium

Directions

  1. Left half: draw pseudostratified columnar epithelium with cilia at the top. Show cells of different heights all touching the basement membrane. Add nuclei at staggered heights. Label cilia and goblet cells.
  2. Note: only one layer, but appears layered due to nuclei at different heights. Common in the respiratory tract.
  3. Right half: draw transitional epithelium in two states. Left side: empty bladder, cells stacked many layers high, surface cells rounded. Right side: full bladder, fewer apparent layers, surface cells flattened.
  4. Label transitional epithelium and note its location (urinary tract).
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Structures to label

Label each on your drawing.

  1. Basement membrane
  2. Simple squamous
  3. Simple cuboidal
  4. Simple columnar
  5. Stratified squamous
  6. Stratified cuboidal
  7. Stratified columnar
  8. Pseudostratified columnar
  9. Transitional
  10. Cilia
  11. Goblet cell
  12. Apical surface
  13. Basal surface

Part 3 of 4 · Physiology lab

Reason it through

A. Match tissue to location and function

1. The wall of the alveolus in the lung.
2. The lining of the kidney tubule.
3. The lining of the small intestine.
4. The outer surface of the skin.
5. The lining of the trachea.
6. The lining of the urinary bladder.

B. Synthesis

1. Predict the tissue type you would find lining a surface where rapid diffusion is essential. Justify, and give an example location.
2. Transitional epithelium has the unusual property of changing apparent shape. Explain why this is functionally important in the bladder and what would happen if it were stratified squamous instead.
3. Cigarette smoke damages pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium in the airways. Predict the consequences for mucociliary clearance and explain why a chronic smoker's cough is often productive.

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