Anatomy & Physiology: Tissue Types and Characteristics

Lining of some ducts (rare).

Protection, secretion, absorption.

Lining of stomach, intestine, gallbladder, uterine tubes, and collecting ducts of kidneys.

Protection, secretion, absorption.

Lining of nasal cavity, trachea, and bronchi; portions of male reproductive tract.

Protection, secretion, moves mucus with cilia.

Urinary bladder, renal pelvis, ureters.

Permits expansion and recoil after stretching.

Within and deep to the dermis of skin, covered by epithelial lining of digestive, respiratory, and urinary tracts; between muscles; around joints; blood vessels and nerves.

Supports organs, permits independent movement, phagocytic cells provide defense against pathogens.

Deep to the skin, especially at sides, buttocks, breasts; padding around eyes and kidneys.

Provides padding and cushions shocks; insulates (reduces heat loss); stores energy.

Liver, kidney, spleen, lymph nodes, and bone marrow.

Provides supporting framework.

Between skeletal muscles and skeleton (tendons and aponeuroses); between bones or stabilizing positions of internal organs (ligaments); covering skeletal muscles; deep fasciae.

Provides firm attachment; conducts pull of muscles; reduces friction between muscles; stabilizes positions of bones.

Capsules of visceral organs; periosteum and perichondria; nerve and muscle sheaths; dermis.

Provides strength to resist forces applied from many directions; helps prevent overexpansion of organs such as the urinary bladder.

Between vertebrae of the spinal column (ligamentum flavum and ligamentum nuchae); ligaments supporting penis; ligaments supporting transitional epithelia; blood vessel walls.

Stabilizes positions of vertebrae and penis; cushions shocks; permits expansion and contraction of organs.

Transport oxygen (and to a lesser degree, carbon dioxide) in the blood.

Help defend the body from infection and disease.

Membrane-enclosed packets of cytoplasm that function in blood clotting.

Between tips of ribs and bones of sternum; covering bone surfaces at synovial joints; supporting larynx, trachea, and bronchi; forming part of nasal septum.

Provides stiff but somewhat flexible support; reduces friction between bony surfaces.

Pads within knee joint; between pubic bones of pelvis; intervertebral discs.

Resists compression; prevents bone-to-bone contact; limits movement.

Auricle of external ear; epiglottis; auditory canal; cuneiform cartilages of larynx.

Provides support but tolerates distortion without damage and returns to original shape.

Cells are long, cylindrical, striated, and multinucleate.

Moves or stabilizes the position of the skeleton; guards entrances and exits to the digestive, respiratory, and urinary tracts; generates heat; protects internal organs.

Cells are short, branched, and striated, usually with a single nucleus; cells are interconnected by intercalated discs.

Circulates blood; maintains blood (hydrostatic) pressure.

Cells are short, spindle-shaped, and nonstriated, with a single, central nucleus.

Moves food, urine, and reproductive secretions; controls diameter of respiratory passageways; regulates diameter of blood vessels.

Transmit electrical impulses to communicate information throughout the body.

Maintain physical structure of tissues; repair tissue framework after injury; perform phagocytosis; provide nutrients to neurons; regulate composition of interstitial fluid surrounding neurons.