EPITHELIAL TISSUE

NICANOR B. LACUESTA JR, MD, DPBO-HNS

• Continuous cells in apposition over a large
portion of their surface

• Rest on a continuous extracellular matrix –

basal lamina – meshwork of fine filaments
• Forms a boundary layer – control movement
of substances from the external environment
and internal milieu, or between
compartments of the body

• Lateral surfaces are highly specialized

 Origin
• Primary germ layers:
– Ectoderm: gives rise to the corneal epithelium,
epidermis of the skin.
– Invagination – glandular appendages of the skin,
sudiparous, sebaceous, and mammary glands
• Endoderm – intestinal glands liver and
pancreas
– Exocrine glands
– Endocrine glands
• Mesoderm – kidneys and reproductive organs,
lining of your blood and lymph vessels,
peritoneal cavity and other serous cavities
 Function of Epithelial Tissue
• Protection
– Skin protects from sunlight & bacteria & physical damage.
• Absorption
– Lining of small intestine, absorbing nutrients into blood
• Filtration
– Lining of Kidney tubules filtering wastes from blood plasma
• Secretion
– Different glands produce perspiration, oil, digestive
enzymes and mucus
 Characteristics of Epithelial Tissue
• Form continuous sheets (fit like tiles)
• Apical Surface
– All epithelial cells have a top surface that borders
an open space – known as a lumen
• Basement Membrane
– Underside of all epithelial cells which anchors
them to connective tissue
• Avascularity (a = without)
– Lacks blood vessels
– Nourished by connective tissue
• Regenerate & repair quickly
Classification of Epithelial
Tissue
• Cell Shape
– Squamous – flattened like fish
scales
– Cuboidal - cubes
– Columnar - columns
• Cell Layers
– Simple (one layer)
– Stratified (many layers)
• Named for the type of cell at the
apical surface.
 Simple Squamous Epithelium
• Structure
– Single Layer of flattened cells
• Function
– Absorption, and filtration
– Not effective protection – single layer of cells.
• Location
– Walls of capillaries, air sacs in lungs
– Form serous membranes in body cavity
 Simple Cuboidal Epithelium
• Structure
– Single layer of cube shaped cells
• Function
– Secretion and transportation in glands, filtration in
kidneys
• Location
– Glands and ducts (pancreas & salivary), kidney
tubules, covers ovaries
 Simple Columnar Epithelium
• Structure
– Elongated layer of cells with nuclei at same level
• Function
– Absorption, Protection & Secretion
– When open to body cavities – called mucous membranes
• Special Features
– Microvilli, bumpy extension of apical surface, increase
surface area and absorption rate.
– Goblet cells, single cell glands, produce protective mucus.
• Location
– Linings of entire digestive tract
 Pseudostratified Epithelium
• Structure
– Irregularly shaped cells with nuclei at different
levels – appear stratified, but aren’t.
– All cells reach basement membrane
• Function
– Absorption and Secretion
– Goblet cells produce mucus
– Cilia (larger than microvilli) sweep mucus
• Location
– Respiratory Linings & Reproductive tract
 Cilia

Basement
Membrane
 Stratified Squamous Epithelium
• Structure
– Many layers (usually cubodial/columnar at bottom
and squamous at top)
• Function
– Protection
– Keratin (protein) is accumulated in older cells near
the surface – waterproofs and toughens skin.
• Location
– Skin (keratinized), mouth & throat
 Keratin

Stratified
Cubodial (layers
of cubodial only)
 Transitional Epithelium
• Structure
– Many layers
– Very specialized – cells at base are cuboidal or
columnar, at surface will vary.
– Change between stratified & simple as tissue is
stretched out.
• Function
– Allows stretching (change size)
• Location
– Urinary bladder, ureters & urethra
 Glands
• One or more cells that make and secrete a product.
• Secretion = protein in aqueous solution: hormones,
acids, oils.
• Endocrine glands
– No duct, release secretion into blood vessels
– Often hormones
– Thyroid, adrenal and pituitary glands
• Exocrine glands
– Contain ducts, empty onto epithelial surface
– Sweat, Oil glands, Salivary glands, Mammary glands.
 Shapes of Exocrine glands
Branching
 Simple – single, unbranched duct
 Compound – branched.
Shape: tubular or alveolar
 Tubular – shaped like a tube
 Alveolar – shaped like flasks or sacs
 Tubuloalveolar – has both tubes and sacs in
gland
 Modes of Secretion

• (How the gland’s product is released)

• Merocrine
– Just released by exocytosis without altering the
gland at all.
– Ex: Sweat glands and salivary glands
• Holocrine
– The gland ruptures and releases secretion and
dead cells as well.
– Sebaceous (oil glands on the face) only example
 Basal Lamina
• Sheetlike extracellular structure
• Visible only with electron microscope (20-100
nm thick)
• Consists of a delicate network of fine fibrils –
lamina densa
• Electrolucent layers on both sides – lamina
rarae or laminae lucida
• Composed of type IV collagen, laminin and
proteoglycan (heparan sulfate)
• Attached to the underlying connective tissues
by anchoring structures (fibrils) – type VII
collagen
• Components of the basal lamina – secreted by
the epithelial, muscle, adipose, and Schwann
cells
• May also be closely related to reticular fibers –
forms a layer (reticular layer) – produced by
connective tissues
 Intercellular Cohesion
• Due to the binding action of glycoproteins in
the plasma membrane and calcium ions
• Intercelllular junctions:
– Tight junctions (zonnlae occludentes)
– Zonula adherens
– Gap junction
– Desmosome (macula adherens)
 Zonnulae Occludentes
• Tight junctions (singular zonnulae occludens)
• Forms a band completely encircling the cell
• Closes off the intercellular space
• On electron microscope – pentalaminar
appearance
• On cryofracture – replicas show anastomosing
lines of ridges (P face) and grooves (E face)
• The number of fusion sites or grooves
correlate to the “leakiness” of the epithelium
• Functions as a tight seal to prevent flow of
materials between cells
• In some epithelia there is an electric potential
– for transfer of molecules
 Zonula Adherens
• Encircles the cell – distance is greater than the
usual 20 nm in these areas
• Provides some adhesion of one cell to another
• Insertion of numerous actin-containing
microfilaments into dense plaques on the
cytoplasmic surfaces
• These microfilaments arise from web of
filaments (terminal web) – provide rigidity to
the terminal apex
• Zonnulae occuldentes and zonnula adherens –
terminal bar
 Gap Junction
• Nexus - can occur almost anywhere on the
lateral surface
• Close apposition of cell membranes (2 nm)
• On cryofracture – aggregates of
intermembranous particles found in circular
patches
• Major protein is a polypetide (MW 26,000 –
30,000)
• Proteins (Connexins) form hexamers with a
hydrophobic pore (1.5 nm) – Connexon
• Connexons are aligned to form a hydrophilic
channel between 2 cells – intercellular
communications
 Desmosome
• Macula adherens – complex disk-shaped
structure on the surface of one cell – matched
to another cell
• Membranes are very straight in there regions
and farther apart (>30 nm)
• There is dense material intercellular plaques
(attachment plaques) – groups of
intermediate filaments of cytokeratin
 Hemidesmosomes
• On the contact points of epithelial cell and
and the basal lamina
• Morphologically - half a desmosome
• Adhering junctions – zonulae adherentes,
hemidesmosomes, and desmosomes
• Impermeable junctions – zonulae occludentes
• Communicating junctions - gap junctions
Specialization of the Apical Surfaces of
Epithelia
• Microvilli
• Stereocillia
• Cilia and Flagella
 Microvillli
• Few to numerous projections arising from the
surface (short or long)
• Microplicae – longer folds (lining of small
intestines and proximal renal tubules
• 1 µm high and 0.8µm wide
• Glycocalyx - filamentous coat of variable
thickness, contains glycoproteins
• light microscope -
• Microvillus – extension – covered by plasma
membrane
• Interiorly – cluster of 20-30 actin-containing
microfilaments that are cross-linked to each
other and to the surrounding plasma
membrane – basal ends intermingle with the
filaments of the terminal web
 Stereocilia
• Long non-motile processes of cell (epidydimis
and hair cells of the inner ear)
• Longer than microvilli
• Parallel to their base but become sinous at
their tips
 Kinocilia
• Found on the cells for special transport of a
mucous film or fluid over a surface
• Rapid oscillations
• 7-10 µm in length and 0.2 µm in width
• Rapidly stiffen forward – effective stroke then
more slow relaxation – recovery stroke
• May beat together (isochronal stroke) or
metachronal stroke ( succesive rows in
sequence)
• On EM – there is a core complex (axoneme) –
two single microtubules in the center with
nine doublet microtubules uniformly spaced
around
– Central microtubules – 13 protofilaments, similar
to those in the cytoplasm
– Peripheral microtubules
• Subunit A – complete microtubule (13 protofilaments)
• Subunit B - incomplete microtubule (10
protofilaments)
• A radial spoke extends from each subunit –A to the
central pair
• Subunit A of each doublet is connected by fine nexin to
the subunit B of the next doublet
• short dynein arms project from subunit A to the subunit
B of the next doublet - 24 nm intervals
 Flagella
• Flagella – internal structure very similar to
cilia but longer (15 -200µm)
– Not commonly found in the body (only in the free
swimming spermatozoa)
– Has an undulating movement