Identify the organ-system represented by the specimen.

Study for the CAMLPR Histology Practice Test. Study with flashcards and multiple choice questions, each question has hints and explanations. Get ready for your exam!

Multiple Choice

Identify the organ-system represented by the specimen.

Recognizing the organ-system from a histology slide comes down to reading the tissue architecture and the cell types lining and surrounding the lumen. A digestive tract specimen typically shows a mucosa with simple columnar epithelium containing mucus-secreting goblet cells, a lamina propria, and a muscularis mucosae. There may be submucosal glands, and the wall generally features a two-layered muscularis externa with an inner circular and an outer longitudinal layer, sometimes followed by a serosa or adventitia. The presence of absorptive enterocytes with goblet cells (and often intestinal glands or villi in the appropriate region) strongly points to the GI tract. If the slide belonged to the respiratory tract, you’d expect ciliated pseudostratified columnar epithelium with goblet cells and sometimes cartilage. A urinary tract slide would show transitional (urothelium) epithelium that can stretch, not the tall absorptive cells and crypt-like glands of the GI tract. Endocrine glands would appear as clusters of cells with a rich capillary network but lacking the organized mucosal layers and tubular glands typical of the digestive tract.

Recognizing the organ-system from a histology slide comes down to reading the tissue architecture and the cell types lining and surrounding the lumen. A digestive tract specimen typically shows a mucosa with simple columnar epithelium containing mucus-secreting goblet cells, a lamina propria, and a muscularis mucosae. There may be submucosal glands, and the wall generally features a two-layered muscularis externa with an inner circular and an outer longitudinal layer, sometimes followed by a serosa or adventitia. The presence of absorptive enterocytes with goblet cells (and often intestinal glands or villi in the appropriate region) strongly points to the GI tract.

If the slide belonged to the respiratory tract, you’d expect ciliated pseudostratified columnar epithelium with goblet cells and sometimes cartilage. A urinary tract slide would show transitional (urothelium) epithelium that can stretch, not the tall absorptive cells and crypt-like glands of the GI tract. Endocrine glands would appear as clusters of cells with a rich capillary network but lacking the organized mucosal layers and tubular glands typical of the digestive tract.

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