What are five general characteristics of epithelial tissue?
What are five general characteristics of epithelial tissue?
Despite there being many different types of epithelial tissue all epithelial tissue have just five characteristics, these are cellularity, polarity, attachment, vascularity, and regeneration.
What are the unique characteristics of epithelial tissue?
Epithelial tissue is scutoid shaped, tightly packed and form a continuous sheet. It has almost no intercellular spaces. All epithelia is usually separated from underlying tissues by an extracellular fibrous basement membrane. The lining of the mouth, lung alveoli and kidney tubules are all made of epithelial tissue.
What are the classifications of epithelial tissue?
Classification of Epithelial Tissues. Epithelial tissues are classified according to the shape of the cells and number of the cell layers formed ((Figure)). Cell shapes can be squamous (flattened and thin), cuboidal (boxy, as wide as it is tall), or columnar (rectangular, taller than it is wide).
What do all epithelial tissues have in common?
All epithelial tissues have these common characteristics: They form sheets of tightly bound cells or roll into tubes. Epithelial cells lie on the basement membrane. Epithelial cells have two different “sides”—apical and basolateral. The apical side always faces out of the body (outside or into a lumen).
What are the structural characteristics of epithelial tissue?
Characteristics of Epithelial Tissues
- Covers and lines body surfaces.
- Cells are densely packed together with minimal amount of intercellular substance.
- Cells are firmly attached by intercellular junctions.
- Cells rest on a basement membrane partly derived from underlying connective tissue.
Why are ciliated epithelial cells important?
Summary. Ciliated cells play an integral role in the defense mechanisms of the respiratory system. By the coordinated beating of their cilia they provide the force necessary to clear potentially harmful material from the airways.
Why do ciliated epithelial cells have more mitochondria?
These cilia beat in a coordinated fashion to move molecules from the lower respiratory tract up to the trachea. They therefore require more energy (as ATP) and so these cells will have extra mitochondria to facilitate this.
Why do epithelial cells have microvilli?
Microvilli are nonmotile finger-like protrusions from the apical surface of epithelial cells that function to increase the cell surface area and the efficiency of absorption.
Why do I have epithelial cells in my urine?
If a urinalysis finds epithelial cells in your urine, it’s typically not cause for alarm. It may be the result of a contaminated sample. Epithelial cells may also reveal underlying conditions, such as a UTI or kidney disorder. Only your doctor can interpret your test results and decide your best course of action.
What is an epithelial cell abnormality?
Cervical epithelial cell abnormalities in the Pap smear represent a spectrum of intraepithelial lesions that lie along the pathway, from mild-to-severe dyskaryosis to invasive cancer. [2] The significance as well as consequence of cervical cytology with atypia or dyskaryosis has been extensively studied.