Chapter 3

Tissues

- The term ‘ Tissue’ was coined by Marie Francois Xavier Bichat in 1792
- The study of tissue is called ‘Histology’ coined by Mayer in 1819.
- ‘Marcello Malpighi’

Tissue : A group of cells that are similar in structure that function together to perform a
specific/particular function.

Importance of Tissues

1. In multicellular organisms, division of labour is because of tissues.

2. Tissues become organised to form organs and organs into the organ system.
3. Workload of individual cells is decreased due to the origin of tissues.
4. Multicellular organisms have higher survival rate due to improved organisation and
higher efficiency.

# Write the differences between Plant and Animal Tissues ( from book)

Plant Tissues

A. Meristematic Tissues

Nature : Cells divide continuously, helps in increasing the length and girth of the plant

Occurrence :

a. Present at growing tip of stem and root : Apical

b. Beneath the bark (cork cambium) and in vascular bundle( vascular cambium) :
Lateral
c. At the base of leaves of leaved or internode or nodes: Intercalary

Characteristics :

( Write from Pg 124)

Functions :
1. It acts as a parent tissue from which other tissues develop.
2. It takes part in growth by formation of new cells.
3. It helps to produce new plant body parts.
4. The place of injury is healed by the formation of new meristem cells.
5. Apical Meristem : It brings about the elongation of root and stem. It results in an increase in
height of the plant. (Primary Growth)
6. Lateral Meristem : It causes stem or root to increase in diameter and girth ( secondary
growth)
7. Intercalary Meristem: It produces an increase in the length of an organ such as leaves and
internodes.

B. Permanent Tissues

Permanent tissues are formed when the cells derived from meristematic tissue take up a specific
role and lose their ability to divide.

Differentiation : Developmental process by which cells derived from meristematic tissue take
up permanent shape, size and function.

Different types of permanent tissues are formed due to the differences in their specialisation.
They may be simple or complex, living or dead, thin walled or thick walled.

a. Parenchyma

Nature : living and possess the power of division

Shape : Oval, round, polygonal or elongated or isodiametric (equally expanded on all sides)

Cell Wall : thin,encloses a dense cytoplasm with small nucleus and large central vacuole.
Intercellular spaces are abundant.

Occurrence: widely distributed in the plant body such as stem,roots,leaves, flowers and fruits.

Functions: (Pg 128)

b. Collenchyma

Nature : consists of living cells, characterised by the deposition of extra cellulose at the corners
of the cells and absence of intercellular space.
Shape : elongated

Occurrence : present only in dicotyledons located below epidermis, petiole and midrib

Functions:

1. It provides mechanical support and elasticity.

2. It provides tensile strength with flexibility.
3. It helps in easy bending of various parts of the plant body.
4. It manufactures sugar and starch when chloroplasts are present.

c. Sclerenchyma

Nature: dead cells, devoid of protoplasm. Cells are closely packed without intercellular space.

Cell wall : walls are lignified (thickened with lignin) which provides flexibility, strength and
makes the cell wall impermeable.

Occurrence: Occurs in abundance either in patches or definite layers in stem, root, veins of
leaves, hard coverings of seeds and nuts.

Types:

i. Fibres

- Cell shape : long, narrow, thick and lignified cells pointed at both ends, clustered into
strands
- Cell size : 1mm to 550 mm

ii. Sclereids

- Cell shape: spherical, oval, cylindrical, t-shaped, dumbbell

- Dead cells present in parts such as cortex, pits, hard seeds, phloem etc

Functions:

1. It gives strength, rigidity, flexibility and elasticity to the plant body enabling it to
withstand various strains.
C. Protective Tissues

It includes epidermis and cork (Phellem).

i. Epidermis

Occurrence: Present in the outermost layer of the plant body such as leaves, flowers, stem and
roots.

Nature : It is one cell thick and is covered with cuticle( waterproof layer of waxy substance
called cutin)

Shape : elongated and flattened with no intercellular space

Function:
1. Protects plants from desiccation and infection.
2. Helps to reduce water loss by evaporation.
3. Helps in preventing the entry of pathogens.

Some important terms:

a. Trichomes: cutinised hair present over the epidermis, helps to reduce rate of
transpiration.
b. Epiblema: Uncutinised layer of epidermis which covers the younger parts of the roots.
Some epiblema cells give rise to root hairs which increase the absorptive surface area of
the root.

ii. Cork

Nature:
- dead and compactly arranged without intercellular space.
- Walls are heavily thickened with an organic substance called suberin which makes cells
impermeable to water and gases.

Occurrence:
As the plants grow older, the epidermis of the stem is replaced by a strip of secondary meristem
called phellogen or cork cambium.
Cell: Cells are rectangular in shape, protoplasts are vacuolated and contain tannins and
chloroplasts.

Function:
- It prevents desiccation, infection and mechanical injury.

C. Complex Permanent Tissues

- Consists of more than one type of cells having common origin, coordinating to perform a
common function.
- Complex tissue transports water, mineral salts (nutrients) and food material to various
parts of the plant's body.

Types of Complex Tissues

1. Xylem or Wood
2. Phloem or Bast

Xylem and Phloem are known vascular tissues, together both of them constitute vascular
bundles.

Xylem

- Vascular and mechanical tissue

- Consists of 4 different types of cells(elements)

a. Tracheids : elongated cells with tapering ends used to conduct water.

b. Vessels : long tube-like structure formed by the row of cells placed end to end. The
transverse walls between vessel elements are partially or completely dissolved to form
continuous channels or water pipes.
c. Xylem Parenchyma : stores food and helps in lateral conduction of water.
d. Xylem Sclerenchyma : strengthening the plant and helping in water and mineral
transport.

Function:
i. To carry water and minerals from root to different parts of the shoots.
ii. It gives mechanical strength to the plant body.
Phloem

- Conducting tissue
- Composed of four elements or cells.

a. Sieve tube
- Slender, tube like structure composed of elongated thin walled cells placed end to end
- End walls are perforated by numerous pores called sieve plates

b. Companion Cells

- Small thin walled cells connected to the sieve tube containing dense and very active
cytoplasm and large elongated nucleus.

c. Phloem Parenchyma
- Thin walled, living cells of parenchyma of phloem
- Function : storage and lateral conduction of food

d. Phloem fibres or bast fibres

- Thick walled, elongated spindle shaped dead cells
- Provides mechanical strength to the tissue

Function:
1. Conducts photosynthetically prepared food materials from the leaves to the storage
organs and later from storage organs to growing regions of the plant body.
Animal Tissues

Animal tissues are classified into four types based on the functions they perform :
Epithelial, Muscular, Connective and Nervous

1. Epithelial tissue
- Simplest protective tissue
- Cells are tightly packed and form continuous sheets
- Forms a barrier to keep different body systems separate
- Lies on a delicate non-cellular basement membrane which contains a
special form of matrix protein called collagen.
Function:

1. Protect the underlying cells from drying, injury and chemical effects.
2. Protect the organs such as mouth and alimentary canal by forming the lining.
3. Helps in absorption of water and nutrients.
 4. Helps in elimination of waste products.
5. Perform secretory function- sweat, saliva, enzyme etc.

Types of Epithelium Tissue

1. Squamous Epithelium ( tessellated/ pavement)
- Composed of thin, flat, irregular shaped cells which fit together like floor tiles to
form a compact tissue
- Forms delicate lining of cavities( mouth,nose, oesophagus, alveoli), blood vessels
and coverings of tongue and skin.
Function:
i. Protects from mechanical injury, entry of germs, chemicals and drying.
ii. It forms a selectively permeable surface through which filtration occurs.

2. Stratified keratinized Squamous

- Waterproof and highly resistant to injury
- Different types of cells arranged in layers . Deep layers of tissue have cuboidal cells
which become polygonal and finally flattened towards the free surface. The flattened
layer contains a fibrous protein called keratin which becomes dead cells.
iii. Cuboidal
- composed of cube like cells which are square in section and free surface is
hexagonal.
- found in kidney tubules, thyroid vesicles and in glands.
- forms germinal epithelium of gonads (testes and ovaries)

Function
- Absorption, excretion, secretion and mechanical support

iv. Columnar
- composed of pillar-like cells whose nuclei are towards the base and free ends
contain microvilli.
- Present in lining of stomach, small intestine, colon, gallbladder, oviduct

Function
- Absorption, secretion and facilitating movement across the cells

v. Glandular
- Tissues that are often modified to form glands which secrete chemicals

vi. Ciliated
 - Tissue formed by the cuboidal or columnar cells which bear thread-like cytoplasmic
outgrowth called cilia.
- found in sperm ducts, lining of trachea, bronchi, oviducts , kidney tubules

Function
- facilitates the movement of solid particles( mucus) in one direction through the ducts.

2. Muscle/ Muscular Tissue

i. Striated/Skeletal/Voluntary
- Entire muscle shows alternate dark and light stripes hence called striated tissue.
- Cells are long or elongated, non tapering, cylindrical and unbranched, multinucleated
- Each cell is enclosed in a thin plasma membrane called sarcolemma.
- Present in muscle of limbs, body wall, face, neck etc.
- Striated tissue present in tongue, pharynx,diaphragm,upper part of oesophagus is called
visceral striated muscle

function
- Provide force for locomotion and all other voluntary movement as these muscles are
powerful and undergo rapid contraction

3. Smooth Muscle ( unstriated / visceral / involuntary)

- Occurs as bundles or sheets of elongated cells or spindle shaped held together by

loose connective tissue.
- Single centrally located cigar-shaped nucleus present in the centre of cytoplasm.
- Fibrils do not bear any bands, stripes or striations hence called smooth or
unstriated muscles
- Occurence : found in walls of hollow visceral organs (stomach,
intestine,ureter,bronchi etc) except in heart.
Function:
a. It helps in the involuntary movement in the body. For eg: movement of food in the
alimentary canal, opening and closing of tubes.
b. It causes the peristaltic movement in the tubes (rhythmic progressive waves of muscular
contraction and relaxation)
c. In organs such as urinary bladder, uterus, gall bladder, smooth muscles contract to
produce extrusive movement.

4. Cardiac Muscles
- Composed of branched fibres which join to form network.
 - Each fibre is surrounded by sarcolema, cytoplasm with longitudional myofibrils and a
centrally located nucleus.
- Intercellular space is filled with abundant loose connective tissue supplied with blood
capillaries.
- These have densely stained cross-bandscalled inter calated impulse ( acting as impulse
boosters)
- Occurence: in the walls of heart
- Functions:
The contraction and relaxation of the heart muscles help to pump and distribute blood to
various parts of the body from early embryonic stage till death.