Question

Give the characteristics of epithelial tissues.

Answer 1

Epithelial Tissues

1. Also called Epithelium.
2. Epi means “ upon,” and thelia means “ grows”.
3. Epithelium grows upon other tissues and is composed of one or more layers of cells covering the external and internal surfaces of various body organs.

Characteristics

Location

1. The epithelial tissue is a type of simple tissue which forms the covering or outermost layer in the animal body.
2. Epithelium covers most organs and cavities within the body.

Structure

1. The cells of the epithelial tissue are tightly packed and form a pavement-like layer.
2. They have only a small amount of cementing material between them.
3. There are little or no intercellular spaces.
4. The entire epithelium is separated from the underlying tissue by an extracellular fibrous basement membrane. Cells rest on a thin basement membrane.
5. The basement membrane contains collagen protein.
6. Blood vessels are absent in the epithelial tissues, but the underlying connective tissue has blood vessels that supplies nutrients to the epithelial cells.
7. It has a good power of repair and regeneration after injury and can heal easily.