Histology Midterm 1 Study Guide (Fall 2003)
You should be familiar with label drawings, anatomy and terminology associated with the following
questions, statments and concepts.
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4.
Heterochromatin, Euchromatin; difference between Euchromatic and Heterochromatic nuclei.
What properties of the nucleus are associated with a cell that is actively synthesizing proteins?
What about the cytoplasm?
Know the function and morphology of the nucleus, nucleolus, Golgi, RNA, DNA, rER, sER, tER
Lysosomes, excretory vesicles, mitochondria, polyribosomes, cytoskeletal elements, etc…
5. Compare and contrast rER and sER?
6. Know the diff b/w endo-, exo- and transcytosis. Difference b/w phago and pinocytosis
7. Why would a cell have a lot of mitochondria with lots of cristae in comparison to another cell with
few mits with low amts of cristae?
8. Can you predict the general function of a cell (or parts of a cell) based upon its mitochondria?
9. What does the cytoskeleton do? What is it made of?
10. Compare the different cytoskeletal elements.
11. Cell surface specializations – what do they look like? What do they do? Where would you find
various types?
12. What are the four basic tissue types in mammals? Compare and contrast the general features of them.
13. What are the major types of glands?
14. Be able to classify the different types of epithelia.
15. Where would you find transitional epithelium? Why there? What does it do?
16. Compare and contrast the three functional types of cellular junctions. Where would you find each?
Why? What are the cytoskeletal elements associated with adhering junctions?
17. What is a Gap Junction? Where would you find them?
18. What are the functional and morphological differences between serous and mucous secreting glands
and their cells?
19. Compare the different mechanisms of secretion.
20. Know your multicellular gland morphology
21. CT. What is the main cell associated with connective tissue. What do they do primarily?
22. What is the hypodermis?
23. How does keritinization of the epidermis occur? What are the different steps; what is occurring at
each of those steps?
24. What is the function of CT proper?
25. What are the three types of CT? What does it mean to say that the Mesenchyme is multipotential?
26. What is the purpose of collagen? Elastin? Where can you find each in the body?
27. What is a “fixed” CT cell? What is a “transient” CT cell? Compare and contrast the two.
28. Why is blood a connective tissue?
29. Compare and contrast the CT proper types. Provide function, structural properties, component
properties, location in body, etc…
30. What is an apodicyte? Why does an apodicyte have its distinctive morphology?
31. Compare white and brown fat.
32. Mast Cells. Fixed or transient. Is that weird given its derivation? What are some properties and
functions of mast cells.
33. With respect to mast cells, what is the difference b/w a primary and secondary mediator?
34. Trace the development from Mesenchymal (embryonic) CT to chondrocyte and osteocyte. What
occurs at or between each “stage” of development?
35. Describe appositional versus interstitial growth of cartilage.
36. Compare and contrast the three different types of cartilage. Include structural differences. Also,
where would you find each and why?
37. Explain the Histogenesis of hyaline cartilage.
38. What is going on in the different layers of the perichondrium?
39. Define chondrocyte, chondroblasts, osteocytes, osteoblasts, osteoclasts, perichondrium interstitial
growth, appositional growth, Epiphyseal plate, diaphysis, epiphysis, endosteum, periosteum,
Mesenchyme, bone matrix, osteoid, howship’s lacunae, ruffled border of osteoclasts, hematopoiesis,
lacunae, canaliculi, lamellae, Haversian system, collagen, filopodia, volkmann’s canal,
hydroxyapatite, osteoprogenitor, bone marrow, red marrow, yellow marrow.
40. Compare and contrast compact and cancellous bone. Where is each located?
41. Compare and contrast Primary and Secondary bone.
42. Explain the Histogenesis of bone.
43. Describe the steps of long bone development (endochondral ossification).
44. What is occurring in each of the five zones of Epiphyseal cartilage?
45. Describe remodeling of bone.
46. Muscle. Define. Sarco- lemma, plasm, somes, Sarcoplasmic reticulum, muscle fiber, myofiber,
myofibril, muscle, fascicle, myoblast, myotube, intercalated disk, desmosomes, gap junctions,
tendon, aponeurosis, myoglobin, epi, peri and endomysium, satellite cells, sarcomere, z-line, h-hand,
i-band, a-band, m-line, dystrophin, DAGs, actin, myosin, titin, nebulin, desmin, terminal cisternae,
transverse tubules, the triad, f-actin, g-actin, cytoskeletal actin, thin actin, tropomyosin, troponin
47. Compare and contrast the three types of muscle. Which are striated? Which are voluntary? In your
comparison, include number of nuclei/fiber, position of nucleus, relative size (diameter) and function.
48. What are the different investments of muscle and nerve? How are they similar, how are they
different?
49. What are the two forms of smooth muscle? Compare them in terms of function, location and
structure.
50. Describe smooth muscle contraction.
51. What is the intercalated disk? What comprises the disk?
52. Briefly describe skeletal muscle development.
53. Describe the steps in skeletal muscle contraction. What happens to the different aspects of the
striations?
54. What are the mechanics of Huxley’s sliding filament theory?
55. Describe the transmission of signal from the CNS to the deep myofibrils of an effector muscle.
56. Describe the trade-off between force production and shortening of muscle. Is there a body size
problem at histological and gross levels? How have organisms “solved” these problems? What is
physiological cross section?
57. What is a motor unit? What are the different types of motor units? Compare and contrast them.
58. What is a myoneural junction?
59. What dictates the different sizes and properties of myoneural junctions?
60. What is the difference between a primary and secondary synaptic cleft? What is acetylcholine?
Acetylcholinase? Where can you find each in a myoneural junction?
61. In most shots of a myoneural junction one can see mitochondria under both the pre and postsynaptic
membranes. Compare and contrast the morphology of thses mitochondria? Why the difference?
62. Describe a muscle spindle. Describe a neurotendinous spindle. Describe what happens during a
reflex arc.
63. What are the steps of stimulus transmission from the axon to the deep myofibrils.
64. Nervous? Outline the basic organization of the nervous system in the body.
65. Describe the general morphology of a multipolar neuron. Where would you find a multipolar
neuron?
66. Define soma, axon, dendrite, synapse, nissl bodies, axon hillock, bipolar, pseudo-unipolar, multipolar
neurons, neural crest cells (by the way are these multipotential?), node of ranvier, epineurium,
perineurium, endoneurium, schwann cell.
Label the following. Also think about the function of each structure. In addition, I may throw in more
realistic pictures from the lectures. You have these in the lecture slides published on the website. For
example, you may see a light micrograph of striated muscle. Could you name the different striations?
Could you tell me the function of each component within the striations.