Article on Tissue Engineering Research

http://www.pbs.org/saf/1107/features/body.htm

The link above is to a site where it talks about all the recent research that has been going on in tissue engineering. Reseachers and engineers from all over the world have came together for the common goal of offering a solution to the everyday diseases and problems our bodies may run into. They have began to engineer ears on specially bred mice. They do this by impanting a scaffling of young cartilage on the back of a mouse that is hairless and has no immune system so it wont reject the ear. The mouse then nourishes the ear and when it is fully grown and molded the ear can be removed with little harm to the mouse. This is just a small step, in the future researchers hope to be able to make virtually anything. Ultimately their goal is to improve human life expectancy by engineering organs, cartilage, and bone.

I was very surprised when i read the article, I didn't have any idea that this was going on in the world. I think it is a great way to help people with terminal diseases. Surprisingly to me this research has been allowed by the vatican, which has denied many things like this in the past because they saw it is an ethical issue.

Tissues

These pictures represent the different types of tissues found throughout the body. We took these pictures in my 6th hour class.

Pseudostratified Columnar Epithelium

Has cells of different heights and sizes, this gives the false

impression that it has several layers.

Found in the lungs and other places where mucus needs to be

pushed away.

Simple Columnar Epithelium

Seen as a single layer of tall, closely packed cells. Mostly used

for absorption and secretion.

Found in tubes and other passage ways.

Simple Cuboidal Epithelium
Made of tall and wide cells arranged in single a single layer.

  Important function is secretion and absorption.

  Forms the walls of small ducts of glands and kidney tubules.

Simple Squamous Epithelium

Flat single layered cells that are laying laterally, their goal is

to reduce friction.

They are found in the air sacs in the lungs, the lymphatic

system, and the lining of the heart.

Stratified Columnar Epithelium

Very limited in the body, but occur at transition areas.

Found in the pharynx, the male urethra, and lining of some

glandular ducts.

Stratified Cuboidal Epithelium

 Typically two layers of cuboidal cells.

Rare in the body, found in sweat and mammary glands. 



Stratified Squamous Epithelium

Single layered cells, the lining reduces friction.

Forms the skin and a short distance into every body opening.

Transitional Epithelium

Several different layers of different cell types. Surface cells

are dome like and can stretch. The basal cells are cuboidal

or columnar.

Found in the lining of hollow urinary organs.