General Information

The histology material in the Human Structure and Function course will be presented in a variety of ways, including lectures, laboratories (described in this Lab Manual), and readings (lecture notes and textbook).  The lectures and labs are the main methods used to present the material, whereas each student should select among the textbook, lecture notes, and other resources to find the style(s) that are most helpful for review.  Our purpose is not to overburden you with material, but rather to provide you with several opportunities to learn and understand the course information.  Notes for each lecture, as well as the PowerPoint lectures, are available on Canvas.

Our glass slides have been scanned and digitized in such a way as to permit analysis and viewing of the slides at very high resolution on your computer.  The webslides are delivered from a central server to your personal computer that acts as a digital microscope. To help you navigate these slides, we have put together this online laboratory manual which contains:

1. directions for proper use of your virtual microscope
2. links to the relevant slides for each lab session
3. hints for slide study
4. descriptions of all slides
5. lab review material
   

There are several other excellent reference and study materials available for the Human Structure and Function course.  We recommend that you try each of the different resources listed below to find the one(s) most useful for you.

• The recommended textbook is Junqueira’s Basic Histology: Text and Atlas, 15e by Anthony L. Mescher. This is readily available via the Duke Medical Center Library's Access Medicine subscription (https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/Book.aspx?bookid=2430)
• Lecture notes: Drs. Carbrey and Wood (with some additional edits from lecturers) have prepared notes for each of the histology lectures that summarize many of key points.
• Lab notes: Dr. Carbrey has a developed a set of notes for each lab that summarize the key features and characteristics of the cells, tissues, and organsstudied in each of the labs.
• Orientation slides: These are powerpoints that Dr. Velkey has put together with labeled images from the slides to help guide students through the lab material.
  

For the duration of the course, you have been assigned to a histology lab with one of the following instructors:

• Lab 1 (room 3051):  Dr. Angel Zeininger
• Lab 2 (room 3052):  Dr. Krisztian Toth
• Lab 3 (room 3053): Dr. Nicole Stringham
• Lab 4 (room 3054):  Dr. Jennifer Carbrey
• Lab 5 (room 3055):  Dr. Matt Velkey
• Lab 6 (room 3056):  Dr. Jamie Wood

Introductory Histology Content in the Human Structure and Function Course

A. Introduction and Objectives

In the inrtiductory portion of the HSF course, we will cover the microscopic anatomy of the basic tissues that comprise the the human body, which are:

• epithelial tissues
• connective tissues, including blood, cartilage, and bone
• muscle tissues
• nerve tissues

Our main goal is to explain the basic concepts and principles that govern the basic structure and function of each tissue.  Microscopic Anatomy uses lectures and laboratory sessions, with the lectures designed to provide background knowledge about each tissue and to serve as introductions or previews for the labs.  In the labs, each student will be able to learn at his/her own pace and develop skills at solving structural problems by analyzing data directly obtained with light (virtual) microscopic observations.  By the end of the introdcutory block, each student should be able to recognize, describe, and differentiate basic tissue types, their extracellular components, and their consituent cells.

B. Introductory Histology Labs and Practical Exams

Histology Content in the Organ Systems Component Human Strucure and Function Course

A. Introduction and Objectives

In the Organ Systems component of Human Structure and Function we will cover the microscopic anatomy of the major organ systems of the human body.  Our main goal is to explain the basic concepts and principles that govern the structure of each organ.  You will analyze how the four major tissue types (epithelium, connective tissue, muscle, and nerve) organize and integrate to form the organs.  Microscopic Anatomy uses lectures and laboratory sessions, with the lectures designed to serve as introductions or previews for the labs.  In the labs, each student will be able to learn at his/her own pace and develop skills at solving structural problems by analyzing data directly obtained with light (virtual) microscopic observations.  By the end of this portion of the course, each student should be able to recognize, describe, and differentiate the major organs according to their cellular structure and tissue distribution.

The information in Microscopic Anatomy is closely correlated with the structural and functional concepts and principles that you will be learning in the Gross Anatomy and Physiology.  The Human Structure and Function course has been designed so that, as closely as possible given the constraints imposed by gross anatomy dissections, the three disciplines will cover the same organ systems in the same time frame.  In particular, the course is scheduled so that the microscopic anatomy of a given organ system will be presented immediately before the physiology lectures on that organ.  In this way, the nomenclature and cellular structure of the organ system is learned before the biological mechanisms and processes. 

B. Organ Systems Histology Labs and Practical Exams