• 17 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Epithelial Tissue Diagram Labeled

Tell the types of epithelium apart by their cells, then look closer at a ciliated sheet and at one cell.

Epithelial Tissue Diagram Labeled

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Simple cuboidal epithelium
  2. Simple columnar epithelium
  3. Simple squamous epithelium
  4. Stratified squamous epithelium
  5. Pseudostratified columnar epithelium
  6. Transitional epithelium (urothelium)
  7. Cilia
  8. Goblet cell
  9. Basement membrane
  10. Basal cell
  11. Connective tissue
  12. Nucleus
  13. Microvilli (brush border)
  14. Apical surface (free surface)
  15. Basal surface
  16. Lateral surface
  17. Tight junction

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 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 part is answered.

Next step Next: the lining of the airway and its layers

All 17 parts on the diagram

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The six types 6

  1. Simple cuboidal epithelium One layer of cube-shaped cells; it forms the kidney tubules.
  2. Simple columnar epithelium One layer of tall cells; it lines the stomach and intestines.
  3. Simple squamous epithelium One layer of flat cells; it lines the lungs’ air sacs.
  4. Stratified squamous epithelium Many layers, flat on top; it stands up to wear.
  5. Pseudostratified columnar epithelium One layer that looks like several; it lines the trachea.
  6. Transitional epithelium (urothelium) Its top cells change shape as the bladder fills.

A ciliated sheet 5

  1. Cilia Moving hairs that sweep mucus along the surface.
  2. Goblet cell A cup-shaped cell that makes and releases mucus.
  3. Basement membrane A thin layer that anchors the cells to the tissue below.
  4. Basal cell A short cell that does not reach the free surface.
  5. Connective tissue It supports the epithelium and carries its blood supply.

One cell 6

  1. Nucleus It holds the cell’s DNA.
  2. Microvilli (brush border) Tiny fingers that add surface for absorption.
  3. Apical surface (free surface) The free side, facing the outside or a hollow space.
  4. Basal surface The side that rests on the basement membrane.
  5. Lateral surface The side, where the cell meets its neighbors.
  6. Tight junction A seal between neighbors that stops leaks between cells.

How this list was compiled: Every name and detail line was checked on 2026-09-30 against Kenhub, Epithelial tissue, https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/overview-and-types-of-epithelial-tissue, with its pages on simple and stratified epithelium; the US National Cancer Institute SEER Training Modules, Epithelial Tissue, https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/cells_tissues_membranes/tissues/epithelial.html; Wikipedia, Epithelium and the articles on each type, text only; and Henry Gray, Anatomy of the Human Body, 1918 (public domain), https://archive.org/details/anatomyofhumanbo00grayrich. Hints and detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Own original drawing; nothing traced or copied. Licence: own work

How it works

This epithelial tissue diagram labeled by type has three views. The first sets the main types side by side. The second enlarges a ciliated sheet and doubles as a goblet cell diagram. The third is an epithelial cell diagram.

Read the full guide

Telling the types apart

Count the layers, then look at the cell shape. One layer is simple; more than one is stratified. Flat cells are squamous, cube-shaped cells are cuboidal and tall cells are columnar. Pseudostratified epithelium is one layer that looks like several, because its nuclei sit at different heights. Transitional epithelium has dome-shaped cells on top that flatten when the organ stretches.

The sheet and the cell

Every epithelium rests on a basement membrane, with connective tissue below. The second view is also a ciliated epithelial cell diagram: cilia stand on the tall cells, and goblet cells make mucus. In the third, microvilli cover the apical surface and tight junctions seal the sides.

  • A stratified epithelium is named for the shape of its top layer of cells.
  • Epithelium has no blood vessels of its own; it is fed from the connective tissue below.

Questions and answers

What are the types of epithelial tissue?

Epithelium is named by its layers and its cell shape. The types drawn here are simple squamous, simple cuboidal, simple columnar, pseudostratified columnar, stratified squamous and transitional. Stratified cuboidal and stratified columnar epithelium also exist and are not drawn.

How do I label the parts of the pseudostratified columnar epithelium?

Start at the top: cilia, then the tall columnar cells with nuclei at different heights, goblet cells among them and short basal cells at the bottom. All of them rest on the basement membrane, with connective tissue underneath.

What is the difference between cilia and microvilli?

Cilia move: in the airways they sweep mucus along the surface. Microvilli are tiny fingers of the cell membrane that add surface area for absorption; packed together on a cell of the intestine they form the brush border.

Is this the answer key to “label the structures on this epithelium slide”?

That sentence is a publisher’s labeling activity. This page shows the same structures on drawings of our own, not on a picture of a slide, so the layout differs, but the names are the standard ones.

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