🔥 ACTIVE RECALL FLASHCARDS — TISSUES (A&P I)

🧠 BIG PICTURE

1. What are the four main tissue types in the body?
→ Epithelial, Connective, Muscle, Nervous

2. Which tissue type is the most abundant in the body?
→ Connective tissue

3. Every organ contains which four tissue types?
→ All four: epithelial, connective, muscle, nervous

🧱 EPITHELIAL TISSUE

4. What are the five major functions of epithelial tissue?
→ Secretion, Protection, Absorption, Filtration, Sensory

5. What does “polarity” mean in epithelial cells?
→ Cells have an apical (top) and basal (bottom) surface

6. What is the lumen?
→ The inside space of a hollow organ or tube

7. Why are epithelial tissues avascular? How do they get nutrients?
→ They have no blood vessels; nutrients diffuse from underlying connective tissue

8. Why does epithelial tissue regenerate quickly?
→ It experiences high wear and tear

🔬 Cilia vs Microvilli

9. What is the function of cilia?
→ Move substances across the surface

10. What is the function of microvilli?
→ Increase surface area for absorption

11. Which would you expect to find in the small intestine: cilia or microvilli? Why?
→ Microvilli (for nutrient absorption)

12. Which would you expect in the respiratory tract: cilia or microvilli? Why?
→ Cilia (to move mucus)

🧩 CLASSIFYING EPITHELIUM

13. How do you classify epithelial tissue? (Two criteria)
→ Number of layers + shape of surface cells

14. What does “simple” mean?
→ One layer

15. What does “stratified” mean?
→ Multiple layers

16. What does “pseudostratified” mean?
→ Looks layered but is actually one layer

17. What does squamous mean?
→ Flat

18. What does cuboidal mean?
→ Cube-shaped

19. What does columnar mean?
→ Tall

20. Which epithelium is specialized to stretch?
→ Transitional

21. Why is transitional epithelium not permeable?
→ It prevents urine from leaking back into the body

🧵 CONNECTIVE TISSUE

22. What are the three main components of connective tissue?
→ Cells, fibers, ground substance

23. What is extracellular matrix (ECM)?
→ Fibers + ground substance

24. What are the three major fiber types?
→ Collagen, Elastic, Reticular

25. Which fiber provides strength?
→ Collagen

26. Which fiber allows stretch and recoil?
→ Elastic

27. Which fiber forms branching networks?
→ Reticular

🧊 LOOSE CONNECTIVE TISSUE

28. What is the function of areolar connective tissue?
→ Wraps and cushions organs

29. Where is areolar tissue found?
→ Under epithelium; widely distributed

30. What is the function of adipose tissue?
→ Energy storage, insulation, cushioning

💪 DENSE CONNECTIVE TISSUE

31. What is the difference between dense regular and dense irregular?
→ Regular = parallel fibers (one direction)
→ Irregular = random fibers (many directions)

32. Where is dense regular found?
→ Tendons & ligaments

33. Where is dense irregular found?
→ Dermis

🦴 CARTILAGE

34. What cells produce cartilage?
→ Chondroblasts (become chondrocytes)

35. Why does cartilage heal slowly?
→ It is avascular

36. Which cartilage is most common?
→ Hyaline

37. Which cartilage absorbs shock?
→ Fibrocartilage

38. Which cartilage is found in the ear?
→ Elastic cartilage

🦴 BONE

39. What cells build bone?
→ Osteoblasts

40. What do osteoblasts become?
→ Osteocytes

41. What makes bone hard?
→ Collagen + mineral salts (hydroxyapatite)

42. What are the major functions of bone?
→ Support, protection, calcium storage, blood cell formation

🩸 BLOOD

43. Why is blood considered connective tissue?
→ It has cells suspended in a matrix (plasma)

44. What are the major functions of blood?
→ Transport, immunity, clotting

🧴 GLANDS

45. What is the difference between endocrine and exocrine glands?
→ Endocrine: secrete into blood
→ Exocrine: secrete into ducts

46. What are the three modes of secretion?
→ Merocrine, Apocrine, Holocrine

47. Which mode uses exocytosis?
→ Merocrine

48. Which mode releases part of the cell?
→ Apocrine

49. Which mode destroys the whole cell?
→ Holocrine

🧠 APPLICATION (EXAM-STYLE)

50. A tissue has tightly packed cells, no blood vessels, and sits on a basement membrane. What tissue is it?
→ Epithelial tissue

51. A tissue has large spaces between cells filled with fibers and gel-like material. What tissue is it?
→ Connective tissue

52. A tissue can stretch and recoil in the bladder. What type is it?
→ Transitional epithelium

53. A tissue needs to resist pulling in one direction. What type is it?
→ Dense regular connective tissue