Endocardium of a sheep heart. (Image courtesy of Paul Kwan, Ph.D.)

Although a great deal of emphasis of the course is on the structures of the organs and tissues, this is not a course based solely on pure microscopic descriptions. Lectures and laboratory sessions will focus on the integration of structures with functions, drawing from many disciplines (light/electron microscopy, cell biology, biochemistry, physiology etc.).

Highlights of the course are its magnificently detailed collections of tissues as represented in the Circulatory Lecture.

Histology is the study of microscopic anatomy dealing with the structures of cells, tissue and organs in relation to their functions.

The first part of the course deals with basic tissues (a collection of similar cells and the extracellular matrices surrounding them): epithelium; connective tissues, including blood, bone and cartilage; muscles; and nerves.

The second part of the course deals with organs, systemic arrangement of tissues performing a specific function, as of respiration, digestion, etc.

Species differences will be included where appropriate. This, however, is not a course in comparative histology.

The course deals mainly with the structural aspects of cells, tissues and organs. It also covers the basic functions of these structures.

Although the students will have extensive course works in physiology, this course tries to mirror the philosophy of Albert Szent-Györgyi, “Structure and function are two sides of the same coin: structure without function is meaningless, and function without structure does not exist.”