Normal·Respiratory·Trachea
Pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium — trachea
Stain: H&E·Magnification: 40x·Tissue: Pseudostratified ciliated columnar·4 labeled regions
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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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)
- 1Cilia
Motile 9+2 microtubule arrays; beat mucus toward pharynx.
- 2Goblet cell
Mucin secretion; hyperplasia in chronic bronchitis.
- 3Basal cell
Reserve stem cells along basement membrane.
- 4Basement membrane
Thickened in asthma; helps distinguish from chronic bronchitis.
