The shapes a cell can take, each drawn as a small solid and named.
Cell Shape Diagram
Name Date
Tap any shape to read, rename or leave it out
1 of 8
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Write the name of each numbered shape.Answer key
Squamous
Cuboidal
Columnar
Spherical
Polyhedral
Discoid
Fusiform
Stellate
Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.
Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a shape is answered.
SquamousFlat and thin, like a scale. The cells lining the inside of the mouth are squamous.
CuboidalAbout as tall as it is wide, like a cube. The cells that line the tubules of the kidney are cuboidal.
ColumnarTaller than it is wide, like a column. The cells that line the intestine are columnar.
PolyhedralMany flat faces, pressed by the cells all round it. Liver cells are polyhedral.
Other shapes 4
SphericalRound, like a ball. A fat cell on its own is close to this shape, and so are very young cells.
DiscoidA disc, dished in on both faces. A human red blood cell is discoid.
FusiformA spindle: wide in the middle, pointed at both ends. A smooth muscle cell is fusiform.
StellateA star: branches reach out from the cell body. Many nerve cells are stellate.
How this list was compiled: Every shape name and the cell given with it were checked on 2026-10-01 in two places, for facts only and with nothing copied. (1) H. E. Jordan, A Textbook of Histology (1920), the list of cell forms at the head of the chapter on epithelial tissues, and the chapters on blood, the liver, the kidney and nerve tissue, https://archive.org/details/textbookofhistol00jordrich (public domain). (2) G. C. Freeborn, Notes on Normal Histology (1901), the paragraphs on the shape of cells, fat, smooth muscle, the liver and nerve cells, https://archive.org/details/notesonnormalhi00freegoog (public domain). (3) Wikipedia, text only: Epithelium, Red blood cell, Smooth muscle and Stellate cell, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epithelium, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_blood_cell, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smooth_muscle, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellate_cell. (4) University of Vigo, Atlas of Plant and Animal Histology: Cell types, Adipocyte, https://mmegias.webs.uvigo.es/02-english/8-tipos-celulares/adipocito-blanco.php. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work
How it works
This cell shape diagram draws each shape as a small solid: a flat tile, a cube, a column, a ball, a many-sided solid, a disc, a spindle and a star. Tap a name, or press Quiz me.
Read the full guide
The words say what the shape is
Squamous means flat like a scale, cuboidal like a cube and columnar like a column. Fusiform means shaped like a spindle, stellate like a star and discoid like a disc. A polyhedral cell has many flat faces.
Different shapes of cells with diagram and place
Cells that line a surface side by side are squamous, cuboidal or columnar. Liver cells, packed tightly on every side, are polyhedral. A red blood cell is a disc, a smooth muscle cell is a spindle, and many nerve cells are stars.
Plain words are accepted: flat, cube, column, round, disc, spindle and star.