Introduction

Success in a histology course depends on the student's understanding of the course objectives. These are:

• To learn microscopic anatomy of the tissues and organs of the human body.
• To learn histological terms and concepts for the purpose of identification and precise communication.
• To develop a systematic thinking process as a means to identify histological preparations correctly.
• To understand the relationship between microscopic structure and function.
• To understand the preparative procedures used in histology and how they affect the visual image.

By methodically reviewing images in this database you will learn to identify cells, tissues, organs, and parts of organs correctly. You learn to do this, not by memorizing the images, rather, by learning how morphological features relate to function and by understanding which features are most diagnostic of organ systems and organs of the systems. In medicine, as in histology, this intellectual process involves art as well as science. The art lies in knowing which questions to ask, and in what order, in your systematic process of elimination.

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