The respiratory epithelium is the lining of the airway, extending from the nasal cavity through the branching respiratory tree to the terminal air sacs of the lungs. Together, the respiratory epithelium serves as a leak-proof barrier that...
Epithelial cells are specialized cells which line many different kinds of tissue. Columnar epithelial cells are named because they are somewhat rectangular in shape and resemble a column in their orientation. Columnar epithelial cells are often...
A urinalysis is a noninvasive urine screening test in which a patient urinates into a small receptacle. A lab technician then examines the urine on several levels. Visual analysis of urine can yield observations about color and clarity, while...
The National Cancer Institute estimates that in 2009, there were 21,550 new diagnoses of ovarian cancer in the United States. Epithelial ovarian cancers begin in the cells that are on the surface of the ovaries. These cancers comprise most of the...
Ovarian cancer will cause an estimated 13,850 deaths and lead to 21,880 new cancer cases in the United States in 2010, reports the National Cancer Institute. Epithelial ovarian cancer, the most common form of ovarian cancer, develops from the...
Urination is a way to secrete water-soluble irritants and other undesirable chemicals from the body. The generation of urine occurs in kidneys, when chemicals and salts are filtered out of the blood in the kidney tubules. Urine then travels to the...
Simple squamous epithelium consists of a single layer of thin cells that are often flattened. These cells have a variety of functions within the body and are primarily used to line certain tissues. These cells are used to make very thin linings...
Vitamin A plays an essential role in the maintenance of epithelial cells. Epithelial cells carry out a number of critical functions in the body, and a lack of vitamin A can cause a variety of conditions affecting the skin, eye, lungs, urinary...
The kidneys are essential organs responsible for blood filtration. Each kidney consists of an outer cortex rich in blood vessels and an inner medulla. Both the cortex and the medulla contain millions of nephrons, the functional units of the kidney...
The quality of your diet can affect how your body heals after a wound. Protein is an important factor in each step of wound healing. The body heals wounds in three stages: inflammation, tissue formation and remodeling. Protein works as both a...
Vitamins that promote healing of wounds are those that are known to replace energy used up by your body during the stress of trauma. These vitamins are vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin E and vitamin B complex including vitamin B5....
Zinc oxide is an inorganic compound having the formula ZnO. It is widely used in skin creams. It can prevent sunlight and ultraviolet rays from penetrating the skin and can protect skin from outside irritants. It also has mild astringent and...
A knee replacement is performed to alleviate knee pain caused by trauma or arthritis. The surgeon performs the procedure through a vertical incision on top of the leg. When the surgery is complete, the incision is usually closed by stitches, metal...
An abrasion, also called a scrape or graze, is a wound to the superficial layer of the skin. Abrasions are usually caused by trauma, such as a fall, that grinds or scrapes away the skin surface, exposing the underlying tissues. Since the skin...
Carcinomas are malignant cancers that develop from epithelial cells, specialized cells that line the tissues of the body. Epithelial cells provide protection to underlying tissue and secrete factors that aid in organ functioning. Carcinomas...
The human body is made up of trillions of cells that work together to allow for tissue development and maintenance, organ functioning, locomation, and a range of other functions. Almost all cells contain thousands of genes, and the combined...
The lungs contain a series of airways, called bronchi and bronchioles, which carry air from the mouth down into the lungs. The bronchi and bronchioles contain a number of specialized cell types, including airway-lining cells called epithelial...
There are five types of membranes found within the body. Membranes are flat sheets of tissue that cover or line parts of the body and are typically composed of epithelial cells and connective tissue. Epithelial cells cover the inner and outer...
Having a family history of kidney stones puts you at an increased risk of developing kidney stones. The hereditary disease renal tubular acidosis also heightens your risk of kidney stone formation. Clinical reports show that more than 70 percent...
The human body is made up of millions of cells. Although the basic structure of each cell is similar, the overall structure varies depending on the function of that cell. There are several different types of cells in the body that are classified...
The body's largest organ is the skin, weighing about 6 lbs., according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. It is essential in safeguarding the body from external deterrents that can damage internal organs. It acts to maintain body...
An eye, or corneal, ulcer is an area of infection or inflammation in the cornea. These can be caused by bacteria, viruses, parasitic organisms, fungi or the organism Acanthamoeba. Eye ulcers present with pain, eye redness and decreased vision. If...
LASIK surgery is a safe and effective vision correction surgery, and vision-threatening complications are rare. However, as with all surgeries, there is a risk of unwanted side effects. Some of the side effects will improve over time for most...
The protein-rich foods you eat may also contain dietary fats. To extract the nutrients from each of these food types, your body separates the fat from the protein. You accomplish this separation process through digestion, decreasing the size of...
According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), there are more than 100 different types of cancer. Cancers are categorized by the organ involved and the type of cell that gave rise to the cancer. The four overarching groups of cancerous tumors...
There are five types of cells in the human body: epithelial, connective, nerve, muscle and adipose. Each performs its own special function and joins with other cells of the same type to form specific kinds of tissues. Tissues join together to...
The skin is a complex organ made up of many layers of flat cells called epithelial cells. At the bottom of the layers of skin cells are germ cells, which are the cells that make new epithelial cells. This means the youngest skin cells are at the...
Replication of the influenza virus requires multiple steps and processes. The first part is the the mechanism by which the virus is able to infect cells. Influenza viruses typically infect epithelial cells (which are thin flat cells) that line the...
Villi are small cellular structures in the small intestine that vaguely resemble hairs. The large intestine has similar hair-like projections, but according to cytochemistry.net they are no longer referred to as villi. However, they have no formal...
A pap smear is a gynecological test designed to detect premalignant and malignant processes in the cervix and uterus. Get tips and advice on preventing, diagnosing, and treating cervical and uterine cancer in this medical video.
