Esophagus                                      Chart

            
Cell types: Surface epithelial, glandular cells
 

Differential diagnosis:
Skin which presents with squamous stratified epithelium and even papillae but has no glands since there is no submucosa. Muscularis mucosa and externa are the largest in the digestive tube for esophagus. It can be distinguished from trachea by absence of cartilage or from other parts of digestive tube by presence of squamous epithelium (others have simple columnar). It can be distinguished form no-villi gut tubes such as the colon or rectum by the epithelium and the absence of mucosal glands (such as the crypts of Lieberkuhn.

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Diagnostic Features:
a. Tissue is hollow and presents with a large lumen which fills more than 1/10th of low power field.
b. There are papillae projecting through laminae propria at bases of mucosa and no serosa.
c. There are no villi an epithelium is squamous stratified variety.
d. There is no external cartilage coat as in trachea.

Draw your own section here and make your diagnosis by data base selection below

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Database selection: Practical Tissue Gross

Level 1: Select  hollow since the esophagus is a hollow organ
Level 2: Select large as opposed to small since lumen fills more than 1/10th of low power filed for tissues of rat/man.
Level 3: Select no cartilage. This eliminates the trachea and other respiratory tract tubes and selects mainly digestive system organs
Level 4: Select papillae seen in laminae propria and also absence of villi.

Note the musculature of the muscularis externa. Is it striated or smooth or mixed?

 

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