TISSUES AND THEIR

FUNCTIONS
a presentation by Innocent
Muhereza
Body Tissues
• Cells are specialized for particular functions
• Tissues
• Groups of cells with similar structure and function
• Four primary types
• Epithelium
• Connective tissue
• Nervous tissue
• Muscle
Epithelial Tissues
• Found in different areas
• Body coverings
• Body linings
• Glandular tissue
• Functions
• Protection
• Absorption
• Filtration
• Secretion
Classification of Epithelium
• Found in different areas
• Body coverings
• Body linings
• Glandular tissue
• Functions
• Protection
• Absorption
• Filtration
• Secretion
Classification of Epithelium
• Shape of cells
• Squamous – flattened
• Cuboidal – cube-shaped
• Columnar – column-like
Simple Epithelium
• Simple Squamous
• Single layer of flat cells
• Usually forms membranes
• Lines body cavities
• Lines lungs and capillaries
Simple Epithelium
• Simple cuboidal
• Single layer of cube-like cells
• Common in glands and their
ducts
• Forms walls
of kidney tubules
• Covers the ovaries
Simple Epithelium
• Simple columnar
• Single layer of tall cells
• Often includes goblet cells, which
produce mucus
• Lines digestive tract
Simple Epithelium
• Pseudostratified
• Single layer, but some cells are
shorter than others
• Often looks like a double cell
layer
• Sometimes ciliated, such as in the
respiratory tract
• May function in absorption or
secretion
Simple Epithelial Tissue
• Pseudostratified columnar epithelium
• Columnar cells of differing heights
• All cells rest on basement membrane but may not reach the free
surface above
• Cell nuclei at odd and irregular levels
• Found lining air passages and segments of male reproductive system
• Motile cilia and mucus are important modifications
Stratified squamous
• Stratified squamous (keratinized) epithelium
• Multiple layers of flat, squamous cells
• Cells filled with keratin
• Covers outer skin on body surface
• Stratified squamous (nonkeratinized) epithelium
• Lines vagina, mouth, and esophagus
• Free surface is moist
• Primary function is protection
Stratified Epithelia

• Stratified cuboidal epithelium

• Two or more rows of cells are typical
• Basement membrane is indistinct
• Located in sweat gland ducts and pharynx

• Stratified columnar epithelium

• Multiple layers of columnar cells
• Only most superficial cells are typical in shape
• Rare
• Located in segments of male urethra and near anus
• Stratified transitional epithelium
• Located in lining of hollow viscera subjected to
stress
(e.g., urinary bladder)
• Often 10 or more layers thick
• Protects organ walls from tearing
Connective Tissues
• Found everywhere in the body
• Includes the most abundant and widely distributed tissues
• Functions
• Binds body tissues together
• Supports the body
• Provides protection
• Variations in blood supply
• Some tissue types are well vascularized
• Some have poor blood supply or are avascular
• Extracellular matrix
• Non-living material that surrounds living cells
Types of Connective Tissue
• Bone (osseous tissue)
• Composed of:
• Bone cells in lacunae (cavities)
• Hard matrix of calcium salts
• Large numbers of collagen fibers
• Used to protect and support the
body
• Point of attachment for muscles
• Reservoir for minerals
• Supports blood-forming tissue
Types of Connective Tissue
• Hyaline cartilage
• Most common cartilage
• Composed of:
• Abundant collagen fibers
• Rubbery matrix
• Entire fetal skeleton is hyaline cartilage
• Chondrocyte is only cell type present
• Lacunae house cells, as in bone
• Avascular—therefore, nutrition of cells
depends on diffusion of nutrients
through matrix
• Heals slowly after injury because of slow
nutrient transfer to the cells
• Perichondrium is membrane that
surrounds cartilage
Types of Connective Tissue
• Elastic cartilage
• Provides elasticity
• Example: supports the external ear
• Fibrocartilage
• Highly compressible
• Example: forms cushion-like discs between vertebrae
• Areolar connective tissue
• Most widely distributed
connective tissue
• Soft, pliable tissue
• Contains all fiber types
• Can soak up excess fluid
Types of Connective Tissue
• Reticular tissue
• Forms framework of spleen, lymph nodes, and bone marrow
• Consists of network of branching reticular fibers with reticular
cells overlying them
• Functions—defense against microorganisms and other injurious substances;
reticular meshwork filters out injurious particles, and reticular cells
phagocytose them
Types of Connective Tissues
• Matrix consists mainly of fibers packed densely and relatively few fibroblast
cells
• Irregular—fibers intertwine irregularly to form a thick mat (Figure 5-20)
• Regular—bundles of fibers are arranged in regular, parallel rows
• Collagenous—mostly collagenous fibers in ECM
• Elastic—mostly elastic fibers in ECM
• Locations—composes structures that need great tensile
strength, such as tendons and ligaments; also dermis and outer
capsule of kidney and spleen
• Function—furnishes flexible connections that are strong or
stretchy
Types of Connective Tissues
• Adipose tissue
• Matrix is an areolar tissue in which fat globules predominate
• Many cells contain
large lipid deposits
• Functions
• Insulates the body
• Protects some organs
• Serves as a site of
fuel storage
• Blood
• Blood cells surrounded by fluid matrix
• Fibers are visible during clotting
• Functions as the transport vehicle for materials
Muscle Tissue
• Function is to produce movement
• Three types
• Skeletal muscle
• Cardiac muscle
• Smooth muscle
Types of Muscle Tissue
• Skeletal muscle
• Can be controlled voluntarily
• Cells attach to connective tissue
• Cells are striated
• Cells have more than one nucleus
• Cardiac muscle
• Found only in the heart
• Function is to pump blood (involuntary)
• Cells attached to other cardiac muscle cells at intercalated disks
• Cells are striated
• One nucleus per cell
Types of Muscle Tissue
• Smooth muscle
• Involuntary muscle
• Surrounds hollow organs
• Attached to other smooth muscle cells
• No visible striations
• One nucleus per cell
Skeletal Muscle Tissue
• Voluntary muscle (muscle you can consciously control)
• Associated with bones that are pulled to produce
movements
• The tongue, esophagus, sphincters, and diaphragm are
also skeletal muscle.
• Has cells organized in striations
Skeletal Muscle Tissue
Cardiac Muscle Tissue
• Found only in the heart

• Striated, but very different in structure and action from

skeletal muscle.

• Intercalated discs allow passage of sodium ions between

cells.
Smooth Muscle Tissue
• Found in the walls of digestive, urinary, and reproductive
organs, blood vessels, and bronchioles of the lungs

• Not striated
Nervous Tissue
• Found in the brain, spinal cord, and nerves
• Composed of neurons and glial cells, which support the
neurons
• Neurons conduct impulses and have three parts:
• Dendrites: receive signal
• Axon: sends signal
• Cell body: metabolic center
Nervous Tissue
Regeneration of Tissues
• Tissues have a varying capacity to repair themselves.
• Damaged tissue regenerates or is replaced by scar tissue
• Regeneration—growth of new tissue

• Scar—dense fibrous mass; unusually thick scar is a keloid

• Epithelial and connective tissues have the greatest ability to
regenerate
• Muscle and nervous tissues have a limited capacity to regenerate
Regeneration of Tissues
• Tissues that regenerate easily
• Epithelial tissue
• Fibrous connective tissue and bone
• Tissues that regenerate poorly
• Skeletal muscle
• Tissues that are replaced largely with scar tissue
• Cardiac muscle
• Nervous tissue within the brain and spinal cord