What Is a Simple Squamous Epithelium?

Squamous epithelial cells, also known as flat epithelial cells, are mainly from the lower ureter, bladder, urethra and vaginal surface and uterus. The surface is covered with squamous epithelial cells. The growth and differentiation of this epithelium are mainly affected by estrogen produced by the ovaries. The role of progesterone is to promote the shedding of epithelial cells.

Squamous epithelial cells, also known as flat epithelial cells, are mainly from the lower ureter, bladder, urethra and vaginal surface and uterus. The surface is covered with squamous epithelial cells. The growth and differentiation of this epithelium are mainly affected by estrogen produced by the ovaries. The role of progesterone is to promote the shedding of epithelial cells ^[1]

It is divided into three layers: table, middle and bottom according to size.

The cell is the largest one of urinary tract exfoliated cells; The shape is irregularly round, multilateral, often folded, like a fish scale; the nucleus is small, sometimes 2 small nuclei, and some are non-nucleated; the cytoplasm is broad. Increases suggest inflammation ^[2]

Normal adult women's vaginal epithelial cells are divided into three layers, namely the basal layer, the middle layer, and the superficial layer ^[2] .

Basal cell

Basal cells can be divided into inner bottom cells and outer bottom cells according to their shape and nuclear-plasma ratio.

(1) inner bottom cells

The inner bottom cell is the smallest and most naive of epithelial cells. The cells were round, with basophilic cytoplasm, dark blue staining, and large nuclei. The size is 4 to 5 times that of white blood cells.

(2) Outer bottom cells

The outer bottom cells are round or oval-shaped, about 8-10 times the size of neutrophil granulocytes. Stained light blue with a nuclear-plasma ratio of 1: (2 to 3).

Squamous cell

The middle layer cells are equivalent to histological spinous layer cells, and they are a transition type from the bottom layer to the surface layer. The appearance is boat-shaped or spindle-shaped, also known as scaphoid cells, with cytoplasm stained light blue, and nuclear-plasma ratio of 1: (3 to 5). Such cells are more common during pregnancy ^[2] .

Squamous epithelial cells

The shape of the surface cells is a large square polygon, which can be divided into the following two types according to the different characteristics of cytoplasm and nucleus.

(1) Reticulum nuclear epidermal cells

Reticular nucleus epidermal cells, also known as prekeratinocytes, are large square polygons with obtuse angles, rich cytoplasm, stained light blue, and nucleus chromatin is loose and reticulate. Ovary function is included in the middle layer when it is observed, so it is also called large and middle layer cells.

(2) Shrinking nuclear epidermal cells

Nuclear shrinkage is small, chromatin is dense and deeply stained, and cytoplasm can be dyed pink or light blue.
The epithelial cell morphology has the following three points: The cell volume changes from small to large. The nucleus changes from large to small. The cytoplasmic staining changed from basophilic (blue staining) to eosinophilic (red staining) ^[2] .