SYSTEMS AND TISSUES
Objectives for Exam #1:
1. Provide an overview of the systems and structures of the human body.
2. Describe the sectional planes and directions that can be used to describe the
orientation of a tissue or body part.
3. Distinguish between the four basic groups of tissue types, and identify specific
tissues.
Part I: Video Questions
1. How many humans are born each day? __________________
2. How are thigh bones engineered to absorb impact?
3. Which famous building’s design was inspired by the structure of bone? _______________
4. Why are cells constantly remodeling bone?
5. How can you strengthen your bones? ___________________
6. Approximately how many years does it take to completely remodel your skeleton?
__________________
7. What is the biggest organ of the body? ____________________
8. How does skin keep the body cool?
9. Why is it important to have collagen in the skin?
10. What do platelets do? _____________________
11. What type of information is used to help us balance?
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12. What problems with balance do astronauts experience after returning to Earth?
13. How may NASA solve the loss of balance associated with long space flights, such as a
mission to Mars?
14. Which structure has the most moving parts in the human body? ____________
15. Based on current computer models, could the early hominid known as “Lucy” have used
tools for hitting or throwing? ________
16. Why is a human brain needed to control a robotic hand?
17. How many touch sensors are there on the skin? _________________
18. What types of taste can be detected by the tongue? __________, __________,
_________, and __________
19. Why are smells so good at triggering memories?
20. Which sense typically occupies more brain space than all of the other senses combined?
_____________
21. How can sound be used to enable a blind person to “visualize” a picture?
22. How do we learn? (What happens in the brain?)
23. What is in the nucleus of a cell? __________
24. What do the little “cargo bubbles” (vesicles) do inside cells?
25. What is artificial skin made from? _____________________________
26. If we are more than a body full of cells, what makes us who we are?
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Part II: Body Sections
1. In order to examine an organ or tissue in detail, a section (slice) is often cut through it.
There are various terms used to describe the orientation of a section, so it is clear what
you are looking at under the microscope. Sketch a human body and label the three slices,
or sectional planes, that can be made: transverse (cross-section), sagittal (longitudinal),
and frontal.
2. Add directional information to your drawing: Superior (top), Inferior (bottom), Anterior
(front), Posterior (back), left, and right.
Part III: Basic Human Tissues
There are four basic types of tissues in the human body: epithelial, muscle, connective, and
nervous. There are distinct structural and functional differences between these tissue types.
The key to distinguishing between the different tissues is to examine the shape of the
individual cells in the tissue, and the architecture of how those cells come together.
Answer these questions while observing the accompanying microscope slides in Part IV
Epithelial Tissue:
1. There are three general types of epithelial tissues: squamous, cuboidal, and columnar.
Squamous epithelial tissue is made up of cells that are ___________ in shape, cuboidal
epithelial tissues are made up of cells that are ___________ in shape, and columnar
epithelial tissues are made up of cells that are _____________ in shape.
Muscle Tissue:
2. The three general types of muscle tissues are cardiac, smooth, and skeletal. Which of
these have striations (stripes) under the microscope?
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Connective Tissue:
3. Tissues are considered to be connective if they produce a ____________. Using the
handout provided, fill the six types of connective tissue into the chart below.
General
Connective Tissues
Fibers
loosely
packed
Fibers
densely
packed
Connective Tissues
Fluid
Connective Tissues
In
circulatory
system
In
lymphatic
system
Supporting
Connective Tissues
Solid
rubbery
matrix
Solid
crystal matrix
Nervous Tissue
4. When looking at nervous tissue under the microscope, what aspect of the tissue structure
suggests that these cells are able to communicate with each other?
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Tissue Microscope Observations
Epithelial Tissues
Sketch the three types of epithelial tissue at 400X. Add arrows and the labels that are listed
under every tissue name. Hint: Start scanning at a low magnification to find an area to sketch
and move up to the higher magnification for your drawing.
Squamous (400X)
Label: plasma membrane & nucleus
of the squamous cells
Cuboidal (400X)
Label: plasma membrane of cuboidal cells
& the duct they surround
Columnar (400X)
Label: plasma membrane
of the columnar cells
Smooth, Skeletal, and Cardiac Muscle Tissues
Sketch the three different types of muscle tissue at 400X (also see p. 93 of the Human Body).
Hints: Plasma membranes are the edges of cells. Also, these are muscles from rats (which
are similar to human muscles). To tell what muscle you are looking at, hold the slide to light
(there is a rat heart, leg muscle, and muscle surrounding an organ).
Cardiac (400X)
Label: plasma membrane
of the cardiac muscle cells
Skeletal (400X)
Label: plasma membrane & nucleus
of the skeletal muscle cells
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Smooth (400X)
Label: plasma membrane
of the smooth muscle cells
Connective Tissues
There are a wide variety of connective tissues. In this laboratory you are examining bone, fat
(adipose), and cartilage. Hint: make sure you find the correct tissue before you start to draw.
Draw the bone, fat, and cartilage slides at 400X.
Bone (400x)
Fat (400x)
Label: osteocyte cells & Haversian canal
Label: plasma membrane of fat cells
Cartilage (400x)
Label: cartilage cells
Nervous Tissue
Find the cells and draw under 400X magnification. Hint: it can take a while to make out
individual cells, the nucleus sometimes stains a light color.
Nerves (400x)
Label: plasma membrane & nucleus
of nerve cell (neuron)
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