On the welcome page of the dictionary, three major sections are shown: Normal tissues, Cancer and Cell structure. Below the image of each section are links to introductory texts for i) normal tissue histology, ii) hallmarks of cancer, and iii) cell structure overview. For the cancer-section there is also a link to current cancer statistics (incidence, survival, etc) for Sweden and the rest of the world. Within each section there are direct links to histology descriptions of different tissue types and tumor forms as well as descriptions of cell structures.
For the 'Tissue & cell types' and 'Tumor' sections, tissue-slides stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) are shown at three different levels of magnification. On the top level, an overview of the whole tissue-sample is shown with boxes in black indicating where zoomed-in representative parts of the tissue are available for viewing. Clicking on these boxes will zoom in on that part to show tissue structures, cells and features in greater detail. Throughout these sections, arrows indicate relevant tissue structures, cell-types and other features.
For the 'Cell structure' section, immunofluorescent images of formaldehyde-fixed cell lines are shown. The various cell structures that are demonstrated are always shown in the green channel using an antibody found in the Human Protein Atlas. The antibody name is linked to the subcellular location summary page of the target gene. The other channels: nucleus, microtubules and endoplasmic reticulum, are always shown in the blue, red and yellow channels, respectively. The channels can be toggled on and off by clicking on the respective coloured button above the image. When applicable, the immunofluorescent images are complemented by immunohistochemically stained cells where the location of the particular cell structure is shown in brown.
A common feature for all sections is that a general descriptive text about the tissue, tumor-type or cell structure is provided when browsing a particular topic.
Tonsils are part of our immune system and consist of large, partly encapsulated aggregations of lymphoid tissue. The tonsils are located in the epipharynx and mesopharynx, in close connection with the entrance to the respiratory and gastrointestinal systems, enabling the reception of pathogens from the air that we breathe. The pharyngeal, tubular, palatine and lingual tonsils encircle the oral and nasal cavity and are referred to as the tonsillar ring, or Waldeyer ring.
The tonsils are covered by a stratifiedsquamousepithelium. The squamous epithelium forms deep irregular invaginations into the tonsils. Underlying the epithelium numerous lymphfollicles are present. Lymph follicles are spherical aggregations of lymphocytes. Primary lymph follicles appear as a homogenous aggregations of darkly stained small lymphocytes. Secondary lymph follicles have a lighter germinalcenter, representing proliferating B-cells. A typical feature of tonsils is the presence of lymphocytes that infiltrate into the squamous epithelium of crypts and the mucosal surface.
