This Article Is About Biological Tissue. For Other Uses, See

This article is about biological tissue. For other uses, see Tissue (disambiguation).
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Cross section of sclerenchyma fibers in plant ground tissue.
Microscopic view of a histologic specimen of human lung tissue stained with hematoxylin and eosin.
In biology, tissue is a cellular organizational level between cells and a complete organ. A tissue is

an ensemble of similar cells and their extracellular matrix from the same origin that together carry
out a specific function. Organs are then formed by the functional grouping together of multiple
tissues.
The English word "tissue" derives from the French word "tissu", meaning that something that is
"woven", from the verb tisser, "to weave".
The study of human and animal tissues is known as histology or, in connection with disease,
as histopathology. For plants, the discipline is called plant anatomy. The classical tools for studying
tissues are the paraffin block in which tissue is embedded and then sectioned, the histological stain,
and the optical microscope. Developments in electron microscopy, immunofluorescence, and the
use of frozen tissue-sections have enhanced the detail that can be observed in tissues. With these
tools, the classical appearances of tissues can be examined in health and disease, enabling
considerable refinement of medical diagnosis and prognosis.
Contents
 1Animals
o 1.1Epithelial tissue
o 1.2Connective tissue
o 1.3Muscular tissue
o 1.4Nervous tissue
 2Plants
o 2.1Meristematic tissues
o 2.2Permanent tissues
 2.2.1Simple Permanent tissues
 2.2.1.1Parenchyma
 2.2.1.2Collenchyma
 2.2.1.3Sclerenchyma
 2.2.1.4Epidermis
 2.2.2Complex permanent tissue
 2.2.2.1Xylem
 2.2.2.2Phloem
 3Mineralized tissues
 4History of the concept
 5See also
 6References
 7Sources
 8External links
Animals[edit]
PAS diastase showing the fungus Histoplasma
Animal tissues are grouped into four basic types: connective, muscle, nervous, and epithelial.

[1]
Collections of tissues joined in units to serve a common function compose organs. While all
animals can generally be considered to contain the four tissue types, the manifestation of these
tissues can differ depending on the type of organism. For example, the origin of the cells comprising
a particular tissue type may differ developmentally for different classifications of animals.
The epithelium in all animals is derived from the ectoderm and endoderm, with a small contribution
from the mesoderm, forming the endothelium, a specialized type of epithelium that composes
the vasculature. By contrast, a true epithelial tissue is present only in a single layer of cells held
together via occluding junctions called tight junctions, to create a selectively permeable barrier. This
tissue covers all organismal surfaces that come in contact with the external environment such as
the skin, the airways, and the digestive tract. It serves functions of protection, secretion, and
absorption, and is separated from other tissues below by a basal lamina.
Epithelial tissue[edit]
Main article: Epithelium
The epithelial tissues are formed by cells that cover the organ surfaces, such as the surface of skin,
the airways, surfaces of soft organs,the reproductive tract, and the inner lining of the digestive tract.
The cells comprising an epithelial layer are linked via semi-permeable, tight junctions; hence, this
tissue provides a barrier between the external environment and the organ it covers. In addition to
this protective function, epithelial tissue may also be specialized to function
in secretion, excretion and absorption. Epithelial tissue helps to protect organs from microorganisms,
injury, and fluid loss.
Functions of epithelial tissue:
 The principle function of epithelial tissues are covering and lining of free surface
 The cells of the body's surface form the outer layer of skin.
 Inside the body, epithelial cells form the lining of the mouth and alimentary canal and protect
these organs.
 Epithelial tissues help in absorption of water and nutrients.
 Epithelial tissues help in the elimination of waste.
 Epithelial tissues secrete enzymes and/or hormones in the form of glands.
 Some epithelial tissue perform secretory functions. They secrete a variety of substances
including sweat, saliva, mucus, enzymes.
There are many kinds of epithelium, and nomenclature is somewhat variable. Most classification
schemes combine a description of the cell-shape in the upper layer of the epithelium with a word
denoting the number of layers: either simple (one layer of cells) or stratified (multiple layers of cells).
However, other cellular features such as cilia may also be described in the classification system.
Some common kinds of epithelium are listed below:
 Simple squamous epithelium

 Stratified squamous epithelium
 Simple cuboidal epithelium
 Transitional epithelium
 Pseudostratified columnar epithelium (also known as ciliated columnar epithelium)
 Columnar epithelium
 Glandular epithelium
Connective tissue[edit]
Main article: Connective tissue
Connective tissues are fibrous tissues made up of cells separated by non-living material, which is
called an extracellular matrix. This matrix can be liquid or rigid. For example, blood contains plasma
as its matrix and bone's matrix is rigid. Connective tissue gives shape to organs and holds them in
place. Blood, bone, tendon, ligament, adipose, and areolar tissues are examples of connective
tissues. One method of classifying connective tissues is to divide them into three types: fibrous
connective tissue, skeletal connective tissue, and fluid connective tissue.
Muscular tissue[edit]
Main article: Muscle tissue
Muscle cells form the active contractile tissue of the body known as muscle tissue or muscular
tissue. Muscle tissue functions to produce force and cause motion, either locomotion or movement
within internal organs. Muscle tissue is separated into three distinct categories: visceral or smooth
muscle, found in the inner linings of organs; skeletal muscle, typically attached to bones, which
generate gross movement; and cardiac muscle, found in the heart, where it contracts to pump blood
throughout an organism.
Nervous tissue[edit]
Main article: Nervous tissue
Cells comprising the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system are classified as

nervous (or neural) tissue. In the central nervous system, neural tissues form the brain and spinal
cord. In the peripheral nervous system, neural tissues form the cranial nerves and spinal nerves,
inclusive of the motor neurons.
Plants[edit]
Cross-section of a flax plant stem with several layers of different tissue types:

1. Pith
2. Protoxylem
3. Xylem I
4. Phloem I
5. Sclerenchyma (bast fibre)
6. Cortex
7. Epidermis
In plant anatomy, tissues are categorized broadly into three tissue systems: the epidermis,
the ground tissue, and the vascular tissue.
 Epidermis - Cells forming the outer surface of the leaves and of the young plant body.
 Vascular tissue - The primary components of vascular tissue are the xylem and phloem.
These transport fluids and nutrients internally.
 Ground tissue - Ground tissue is less differentiated than other tissues. Ground tissue
manufactures nutrients by photosynthesis and stores reserve nutrients.
Plant tissues can also be divided differently into two types:
1. Meristematic tissues
2. Permanent tissues.
Meristematic tissues[edit]
Meristematic tissue consists of actively dividing cells, and leads to increase in length and thickness
of the plant. The primary growth of a plant occurs only in certain, specific regions, such as in the tips
of stems or roots. It is in these regions that meristematic tissues are present. Cells in these tissues
are roughly spherical or polyhedral, to rectangular in shape, and have thin cell walls. New cells
produced by meristem are initially those of meristem itself, but as the new cells grow and mature,
their characteristics slowly change and they become differentiated as components of the region of
occurrence of meristematic tissues, being classified as:
 Apical meristem - It is present at the growing tips of stems and roots and increases the
length of the stem and root. They form growing parts at the apices of roots and stems and are
responsible for the increase in length, also called primary growth. This meristem is responsible
for the linear growth of an organ.
 Lateral meristem - This meristem consists of cells which mainly divide in one plane and
cause the organ to increase in diameter and growth. Lateral meristem usually occurs beneath
the bark of the tree in the form of Cork Cambium and in vascular bundles of dicots in the form
of vascular cambium. The activity of this cambium results in the formation of secondary growth.
 Intercalary meristem - This meristem is located in between permanent tissues. It is usually
present at the base of the node, internode and on leaf base. They are responsible for growth in
length of the plant and increasing the size of the internode. They result in branch formation and
growth.
The cells of meristematic tissues are similar in structure and have thin and elastic primary cell wall
made up of cellulose. They are compactly arranged without inter-cellular spaces between them.
Each cell contains a dense cytoplasm and a prominent nucleus. The dense protoplasm of
meristematic cells contains very few vacuoles. Normally the meristematic cells are oval, polygonal or
rectangular in shape.
Meristematic tissue cells have a large nucleus with small or no vacuoles as they have no need to
store anything, opposed to their function of multiplying and increasing the girth and length of the
plant, and no intercellular spaces.

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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please

Cross section of sclerenchyma fibers in plant ground tissue.

Microscopic view of a histologic specimen of human lung tissue stained with hematoxylin and eosin.

In biology, tissue is a cellular organizational level between cells and a complete organ. A tissue is

PAS diastase showing the fungus Histoplasma

Animal tissues are grouped into four basic types: connective, muscle, nervous, and epithelial.

 Simple squamous epithelium

Cells comprising the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system are classified as

Cross-section of a flax plant stem with several layers of different tissue types:

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