School of MedTechMedicine // Engineering

Microscopic anatomy

Epithelial Tissue

Sheets of cells that cover, line and secrete. Each sheet shows the tissue three times, from the layers to the one feature that gives it away, with a real slide in the corner and the answers on the next page.

Epithelial TissueConnective TissueMuscle TissueNervous Tissue← All templates

Covering Epithelium · Simple Epithelium

  • Simple Squamous Epithelium

    One layer of flat cells, thin enough for gas and fluid to pass straight through.

    3 pages · 10 colours · A4 · Letter

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    A4 0.6 MB Letter 0.6 MB

  • Simple Cuboidal Epithelium

    One layer of cube-shaped cells with round, central nuclei: the shape of cells that secrete and absorb.

    3 pages · 10 colours · A4 · Letter

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    A4 1.0 MB Letter 1.0 MB

  • Simple Columnar Epithelium

    One layer of tall cells, nuclei at the base, built to absorb and to make mucus.

    3 pages · 10 colours · A4 · Letter

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    A4 1.2 MB Letter 1.2 MB

Covering Epithelium · Pseudostratified Epithelium

  • Pseudostratified Ciliated Columnar Epithelium

    It looks layered, but every cell touches the basement membrane: one layer in disguise.

    3 pages · 10 colours · A4 · Letter

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    A4 1.0 MB Letter 1.0 MB

Covering Epithelium · Stratified Epithelium

  • Keratinised Stratified Squamous Epithelium

    The epidermis: many layers of cells that harden and die on purpose to keep you sealed in.

    3 pages · 10 colours · A4 · Letter

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    A4 1.0 MB Letter 1.0 MB

  • Non-Keratinised Stratified Squamous Epithelium

    Many layers that take friction and stay moist: the lining of the cheeks, oesophagus, vagina and the surface of the cornea.

    3 pages · 10 colours · A4 · Letter

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    A4 1.2 MB Letter 1.1 MB

  • Transitional Epithelium (Urothelium)

    A lining that stretches: the bladder can go from a fist to a balloon without leaking.

    3 pages · 10 colours · A4 · Letter

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    A4 0.9 MB Letter 0.9 MB

Exocrine Glands · Acinar And Alveolar Glands

  • Exocrine Pancreas (Compound Tubuloacinar Gland)

    Epithelium that makes things to send out: enzymes into a duct, or hormones into the blood.

    3 pages · 10 colours · A4 · Letter

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    A4 1.0 MB Letter 1.0 MB

  • Compound Tubuloalveolar Gland (Mammary Gland)

    Branching ducts ending in small rounded sacs, the alveoli, that fill with milk.

    3 pages · 10 colours · A4 · Letter

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    A4 1.1 MB Letter 1.1 MB

  • Compound Tubulo-Acinar Gland (Salivary Gland)

    Branching ducts ending in both tubules and berry-like acini: serous, mucous or a mix of the two.

    3 pages · 10 colours · A4 · Letter

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    A4 1.3 MB Letter 1.3 MB

Endocrine Glands

  • Parathyroid Gland

    Usually four small glands behind the thyroid that keep blood calcium steady.

    3 pages · 10 colours · A4 · Letter

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    A4 0.9 MB Letter 0.9 MB

  • Adrenal Gland

    Two glands in one: a steroid-making cortex in three zones around a medulla that makes adrenaline.

    3 pages · 10 colours · A4 · Letter

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    A4 1.6 MB Letter 1.6 MB

Drawn slides generated by WalexLabs (Disseco) from published cell sizes. Real slides: GTEx via NCI Imaging Data Commons (CC BY 4.0) and Wikimedia Commons (CC0 / CC BY / public domain), credited on every sheet.