Epithelial tissue forms the outer surface of the skin and the lining of the small intestine. The outer layer of the skin is made up of stratified squamous epithelium tissue which is made up of many layers of flat cells. There are two types of stratified squamous epithelium tissue, keratinized and non-keratinized. The outer layer of the skin is keratinized, making it water proof and its main function is protection. The small intestine is made up of simple columnar epithelium tissue which is made up of one layer of long thin …show more content…
If cartilage is broken, it generally never heals. If epithelium is cut, it heals in a week or so. Why is there such a difference in the healing rates of these tissues?
For healing to take place it takes a continuous supply of nutrients. The reason some tissues take longer to heal than others is due to the blood supply that reaches the tissue. There is no blood vessels or nerves that go to cartilage making cartilage avascular. As blood flow is required to carry nutrients to the tissue, the cartilage is not receiving any nutrients causing it to be unable to heal. The only way that cartilage gets nutrients is through diffusion and usually it’s not enough nutrients making the cartilage unable to completely heal. Bone, on the other hand, has blood flow because bone marrow produces red blood cells. This making healing much easier for bone. Bones heal naturally by producing new bone cells and new small blood vessels until the bone is completely healed. Epithelium tissues heal the fastest, usually within a week because they start the healing process immediately. A clot will form which keeps the cut from losing large amounts of blood supply and within a few hours skin cells start to divide, feeling in the cut with new skin