85208 - Histology

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student acquires the fundamental knowledge of the interactions between the cells in the formation of the tissues that compose the organs and the apparatus of the organism, with greater consideration of the musculoskeletal apparatus.

Course contents

Epithelial tissues

Ultrastructure and function of epithelial cells. Histological classification.

Covering epithelium. Structure functions, classification and distribution. Junction complexes, adhesion molecule relationships and cytoskeletal elements. Keratinization mechanisms. Regeneration.

Exocrine glandular epithelium. Structure and function of glands and  secretion.  

Connective Tissue

Embryonic development and distribution. Cells and extracellular matrix (ECM): collagen and elastic fibers, amorphous ground substance. Role of different cellular elements. Classification.

Connective tissue proper. Classification. Mucous connective tissue. Loose connective tissue. Reticular and elastic tissues. Dense regular and irregular tissues. Adipose tissues (unilocular and multilocular).

Cartilage. Histological structure and classification. Perichondrium. Cartilage growth and repairing.

Bone. Trabecular and compact bone: cells and ECM. Direct and indirect ossification. Bone turnover.

Blood. Hematopoiesis. Structure and function of blood. Plasma and cells. Histology of bone marrow and emopoietic cell differentiation.

Muscle tissue

Classification and organization.

Smooth muscle: ultrastructure and function. Contraction mechanism.

Skeletal Muscle: ultrastructure and organization of skeletal muscle fibers.

Histology and function of Cardiac muscle.

Nervous tissue

Structural and functional organization of the nervous tissue. Types of neurons. Ultrastructure of myelinated and unmyelinated nerve fibers. Ultrastructure of synapses. Structure and function of glia.

Readings/Bibliography

• Elementi di istologia e cenni di embriologia - Autori vari - Ed. Piccin
• Elementi di istologia - Di Pietro - Ed. EdiSES
• Istologia ed elementi di anatomia microscopica" - Dalle Donne, Gagliano, Bertolini et al. - Ed. EdiSES
• Citologia & Istologia Umana - Carinci, Bani, Baroni et al. - Ed. Idelson-Gnocchi

Teaching methods

The course will take place in 12 hours of frontal lecture. Specific iconography will be showed to support the theoretical bases.

Assessment methods

The end-of-course exam consists of an interview aimed at evaluating the achievement of the following educational objectives:

§ know the structure of the various cytotypes that constitute the tissues of the human organism

§ know the classification and the subclassifications of the 4 main tissues

§ understand the correlations between the various tissues, knowing the morpho-functional aspects.

 

Teaching tools

PowerPoint presentations. The material used during the lessons is available since the first lesson by login at the Platform for teaching support service – Virtuale.unibo.it

Office hours

See the website of Annalisa Palmieri