Slide 3. Variously shaped cells of glabrous skin, AZAN
Explains how cell shape changes through the layers of thick glabrous skin of the palm or sole, from the basal row of cuboidal to columnar cells up to the flattened, anucleate surface cells. Covers the AZAN colours of nuclei, keratin and collagen, a layer-by-layer recognition guide, and how to tell thick skin from thin skin, with a cross-reference to the stratified epithelia theory topics.
Inside: 1 section · 1 min
Topic 92 of 127 in the MU Sofia syllabus for Cytology (Dental Medicine, Year 1). The free AceMed note covers it in 1 section, about 128 words (1 min of reading).
In this note
Introduction
Introduction
Thick (glabrous) skin of the palm or sole shows how cell shape changes through one epithelium, from the base to the surface.
Stain
AZAN: nuclei red, epithelial cytoplasm and keratin red to orange, collagen of the dermis blue.
How to recognise it
Stratum basale: one row of cuboidal to columnar cells on the basement membrane.
Stratum spinosum: several rows of polygonal cells.
Stratum granulosum: flattened, diamond-shaped cells with dark granules.
Stratum lucidum (thick skin only): a thin, clear band.
Stratum corneum: a very thick layer of flat, dead cells without nuclei.
Below them, the blue dermis rises into the epidermis as papillae.
Don't confuse it with: thin skin, which has hair follicles, a thin stratum corneum and no stratum lucidum.
Theory: topics 9 and 38 (stratified surface epithelia).
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