Overview of Cellular Structure and Tissue Types in Multicellular Organisms
This overview details the fundamental cellular basis of life, emphasizing that cells are primarily composed of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen, with water being the most abundant substance. It outlines various cell functions, shapes, and the impact of cell structure on functionality, including specialized cells like neurons and fat cells. The text also explores cell junctions that facilitate communication and adhesion between cells, as well as detailing the four main types of tissues—epithelial, connective, muscle, and nervous—highlighting their characteristics and functions.
Overview of Cellular Structure and Tissue Types in Multicellular Organisms
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Presentation Transcript
Cells and Tissues Unit 2
Overview of the Cellular Basis of Life • Cells are primarily made of 4 elements: • Carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen • Water (H2O) is the most abundant substance • Also contain small amounts of other elements: • Calcium for blood clotting • Iron for hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in blood • Iodineused to make thyroid hormone that controls metabolism • Metals (calcium, sodium, potassium, etc.) can carry electrical charge electrolytes that are essential for nerve impulses
Cell Functions • In multicellular organisms, cells can be specialized to perform specific tasks • However, all cells are able to perform the following functions: • Metabolism • Reproduction • Irritability • Mobility • Grow • Digestion • Excretion
Different Cell Shapes • Cubelike • Tilelike • Disk-shaped • Round spheres • Branching • Cylindrical
Interstitial fluid • Surrounds all cells • Contains salt and other materials similar to sea water
Structure and function • A cell’s structure greatly impacts its function • Neurons (nerve cells) have long processes for receiving and transmitting messages and are covered with an extensive plasma membrane. • Fat cells are large and spherical due to a large lipid droplet in their cytoplasm. • Squamous epithelial cells are flat and fit together like tiles in order to protect the body. • Skeletal muscle cells are elongated and filled with contractile filaments to help facilitate mobility.
From cells to tissues • Cells come together to form tissues, joined at cell junctions • Types of junctions: • Tight junctions – impermeable, bind cells into leak-proof sheets. Adjacent plasma membranes fuse together tightly like a zipper. • Desmosomes – anchoring junctions that prevent cells from being pulled apart. Button-like thickenings of adjacent plasma membranes, which are connected by fine protein filaments. • Gap junctions – allow communication, chemical molecules can pass from one cell to another, neighboring cells are connected by connexons, hollow cylinders composed of protein.
Types of tissues • Epithelial – lining, covering, glandular • Connective – connects body parts • Muscle – able to contract (shorten) • Nervous – conduct electrochemical impulses from one part of the body to another irritability and conductivity
Epithelial tissue • Cells fit closely together to form continuous sheets Neighboring cells are bound together at cell junctions • Membranes always have one free (unattached) edge = apical surface exposed to exterior OR cavity of internal organ • Lower surface rests on basement membrane, a structureless material secreted by the cells • Don’t have a blood supply of their own rely on diffusion from capillaries
Epithelial tissue • Named for cells at the free surface, not those at basement membrane • Simple epithelium = one layer of cells • Stratified epithelium = more than one cell layer • Squamous cells = flattened • Cuboidal = cube-shaped • Columnar = shaped like columns
Simple squamous epithelium • Single layer of thin squamous cells resting on a basement membrane • Fit closely together, like floor tiles • Usually found where filtration occurs or where substances are exchanged through rapid diffusion • Example: Air sacs of lungs and walls of capillaries
Simple cuboidal epithelium • Single layer of cuboidal cells resting on a basement membrane • Common in glands and their ducts • Forms walls of kidney tubules and covers surface of ovaries
Simple columnar epithelium • Single layer of tall cells that fit closely together • Line the entire length of the digestive tract from stomach to anus
Pseudostratified columnar epithelium • All of the cells rest on a basement membrane, however, some appear shorter than others • False impression of stratification • Lines the respiratory tract
Stratified squamous epithelium • Consists of several layers of squamous cells • Most common stratified epithelium in the body • Outer portion of skin, esophagus
Stratified cuboidal and stratified columnar epithelia • Usually only two layers of cells that are cuboidal or columnar in shape • Fairly rare in the body, found mainly in the ducts of large glands
Transitional epithelium • Highly modified, stratified squamous epithelium that forms the lining of only a few organs • Urinary bladder, ureters, part of urethra all part of urinary system
Glandular epithelium • Glands make and secrete a particular product • Endocrine glands – “ductless” glands secrete directly into blood stream • Exocrine glands – secrete through ducts to the epithelial surface
Connective tissue • Connects body parts • Most abundant and widely distributed of tissues • Most have a good blood supply, but there are some exceptions, such as tendons, ligaments, and cartilages • Extracellular matrix – nonliving substance found outside of the cells
Bone • Osseous tissue bone cells sitting in cavities called lacunaeand surrounded by layers of a very hard matrix that contains calcium salts and collagen fibers • Very hard protects and supports body
Cartilage • Less hard and more flexible than bone • Hyaline cartilage = abundant collagen fibers hidden by a rubbery matrix; forms larynx, attaches ribs to sternum, and covers ends of bones where they form joints • Fibrocartilage = cushionlike discs between vertebrae of spinal column • Elastic cartilage = found where a structure with elasticity is desired, such as the external ear
Dense connective tissue • Collagen fibers = main matrix element • Fibroblasts = fiber-forming cells located between collagen fibers • Forms strong, ropelike structures such as tendons (attach skeletal muscles to bones) and ligaments (connect bones to bones)
Loose connective tissue • Softer, more cells, fewer fibers • Areolar tissue – cushions and protects body organs, helps hold them together and in place, acts as a sponge and soaks up excess fluid • Adipose tissue – “fat,” forms subcutaneous tissue beneath the skin, insulates body and protects some organs, acts as fuel if needed • Reticular connective tissue – delicate network of interwoven fibers that helps support many free blood cells in lymphoid organs
Blood • Blood is considered a connective tissue because it consists of blood cells surrounded by a nonliving, fluid matrix called plasma • The “fibers” are soluble protein molecules visible during clotting • Carries nutrients, wastes, respiratory gases, and many other substances
Muscle tissue • Specialized to contract, or shorten • Three types: • Skeletal • Cardiac • Smooth
Skeletal muscle • Packaged by connective tissue sheets into organs called skeletal muscles • These muscles can be controlled voluntarily • When they contract, they pull on bones or skin • Cells are long, cylindrical, and multinucleate • Obvious striations (stripes)
Cardiac muscle • Found only in the heart • Has striations like skeletal muscle, but the cells only have one nucleus • Branching cells fit tightly together like clasped fingers at junctions called intercalated disks • Contain gap junctions that allow ions to pass freely from cell to cell, resulting in rapid conduction of the electrical impulses • Involuntary control
Smooth muscle • No striations • Cells have a single nucleus and are spindle shaped • Found in the walls of hollow organs, such as the stomach, bladder, uterus, and blood vessels • Smooth muscle contractions help propel substances through an organ • Involuntary contractions
Nervous tissue • Neurons – cells that receive and send electrochemical signals from one part of the body to another • Cytoplasm is drawn out into long extensions, which allows a single neuron to conduct an impulse over long distances
Tissue Repair • Regeneration = replacement of destroyed tissue by the same kind of cells • Fibrosis = repair by dense (fibrous) connective tissue scar tissue • Depends on what type of tissue is damaged and the severity of the injury
Tissue Repair • 3 things happen: • 1. Capillaries become permeable and “leak” clotting factors. • 2. Granulation tissue forms, spreading new capillaries that attach to nearby blood vessels. These new capillaries are weak and bleed easily (think about picking a scab). • 3. The surface epithelium regenerates beneath the scab, which eventually falls off.
Things that can happen to tissues and cells… • Neoplasm = “new growth,” cells divide rapidly without control tumors, cancer, etc. • Hyperplasia = temporary growth or enlargement • Atrophy = a decrease in size and strength due to lack of stimulation