This section is intended as an introduction to body tissues. Much of what you learn in this section will be accomplished in lab. In lecture, I primarily have students concentrate on the distinguishing features of the important tissues and what they look like. Specific functions (i.e., muscle) and organization (i.e., bone) will be covered in those body systems later.

I suggest that you follow the lecture outline. It describes the level of detail at which you should study. The other thing you should keep in mind is that my favorite tissue type is hyaline cartilage, so I usually ask a lot of questions about it on lecture and lab exams. Seriously.

Read the introduction to Chapter 4 (first four paragraphs on p. 118).

• The list of the four adult tissue types and what they do is important. This is in the third paragraph.
  • This can also be seen in Wood Fig. 7-1, which (in my opinion) is a better version of Marieb Fig. 1.1 (p. 4).
• The section on tissue preparation is interesting, but I'll touch on this when we break out the slides in lab.

Read the section on epithelial tissue up through the paragraph on stratified cuboidal epithelium (pp. 118-124).

• Important information:
  • Epithelium makes up coverings and linings of the body and the structure of glands.
  • Epithelial tissue is polarized; one surface is a free edge and is called the apical surface. The opposite surface makes contact with a basement membrane and is called the basal (or basolateral) surface.
  • Epithelial tissue is classified by cell shape and the number of cell layers.
  • Simple epithelia (one cell layer thick) generally functions in secretion and absorption; stratified epithelia (>1 cell layer thick) generally functions in protection.
  • See animation – Epithelial Structure.
  • Concentrate on the following figures: Marieb Figs. 4.2a, 4.2b, 4.2c, 4.2d, 4.2e, and Lab Manual Fig. 6A.3f.
  • Skip the section on stratified columnar and transitional epithelia (p. 124).
    • Stratified columnar is relatively rare.
    • Transitional epithelium is only found in the bladder; you may hear more about it in A&P2 (urinary system).

Read the section on glandular epithelia up through the second paragraph on exocrine glands (pp. 124-125).

• The difference between exocrine and endocrine glands is important, and it is revisited up through the end of A&P2.
• Goblet cells will make an appearance later as well.

Read the section on modes of secretion (p. 126 and Marieb Fig. 4.5).

• The difference between merocrine vs. holocrine secretion will come up again in the integumentary system.
• See animation – Glandular Secretion.
  • The part on merocrine secretion shows the vesicles “floating” across the plasma membrane. Of course, you know that they don’t do that. Rather, they should have them fusing with the plasma membrane and dumping their contents into the extracellular space.

Read the section titled “Covering and Lining Membranes” (pp. 141-143).

• Only worry about serous and mucous membranes for now. (Cutaneous membrane – skin – will be covered in the Integumentary system.)
  • Serous membranes (serosa) = closed to the external environment; composed of simple squamous epithelium
  • Mucous membranes (mucosa) = moist membranes; open to the environment (think: inside of your mouth and nose, etc.); usu. composed of either stratified squamous or simple columnar with goblet cells that secrete mucus
  • Make sure you can identify the serous and mucous membranes in Marieb Fig. 4.12 [Parts 1 2].
    • You will see these under the microscope in lab, as well.

Read the introduction to connective tissue (pp. 126-130).

• This section contains a lot of detail; see the Lecture Outline for what I cover in class.

Read the following sections for information on the specific connective tissues we cover in this section:

• connective tissue proper (p. 131)
  • areolar connective tissue (pp. 131-132; Marieb Fig. 4.9a)
    • See Art-Labeling for Marieb Fig. 4.8.
  • adipose connective tissue (p. 132-133, first three paragraphs; Marieb Fig. 4.9b)
  • dense regular connective tissue (pp. 133, 135; Marieb Fig. 4.9d)
    • Again, just worry about what the tissue looks like and how it’s constructed.
    • Detail will be covered later.
  • dense irregular connective tissue (p. 135; Marieb Fig. 4.9e)
  • See animation - Soft Connective Tissues
• cartilage (specifically hyaline cartilage) (p. 135; Marieb Fig. 4.9f)
• bone (p. 137; Marieb Fig. 4.9i)
  • See animation - Specialized Connective Tissues

These animations come from a different book than ours, so I can't really defend the difference between "soft" and "specialized" connective tissues, especially considering adipose seems more soft than specialized.

Read the short section on muscle tissue (pp. 139-141).

• Be able to discriminate between the three types of muscle, concentrating on what the tissue looks like and, in general, where it is found.
  • This can be most easily seen in Marieb Figs. 4.11a, 4.11b, and 4.11c.
  • See animation - Muscle Tissues
• Function will be addressed (in great detail) later.