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Normal·Respiratory·Trachea

Pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium — trachea

Stain: H&E·Magnification: 40x·Tissue: Pseudostratified ciliated columnar·4 labeled regions
Pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium — trachea histology — Respiratory, Trachea, H&E
Wikimedia Commons · File:2304 Pseudostratified Epithelium.jpg · https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2304_Pseudostratified_Epithelium.jpg (CC BY 3.0)
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Description

All cells touch the basement membrane but their nuclei sit at different levels, creating a false sense of stratification. Cilia + goblet cells form the mucociliary escalator.

Labeled regions (4)

  1. 1
    Cilia

    Motile 9+2 microtubule arrays; beat mucus toward pharynx.

  2. 2
    Goblet cell

    Mucin secretion; hyperplasia in chronic bronchitis.

  3. 3
    Basal cell

    Reserve stem cells along basement membrane.

  4. 4
    Basement membrane

    Thickened in asthma; helps distinguish from chronic bronchitis.

More respiratory histology

Asthma — airway remodeling + eosinophilic inflammation
Asthma — airway remodeling + eosinophilic inflammation
Bronchus
Lung — alveolar parenchyma
Lung — alveolar parenchyma
Lung