By Akram Mondal
As mankind and society progressed, we became capable of understanding many things about the world, from the way the brain works to how the sun is capable of influencing many aspects of our lives.
However, a very surprising thing that mankind has been capable of studying is microorganisms and microscopic entities, things so small that are pretty much impossible to perceive through the naked eye.
And believe it or not, the study of these entities has become a very important part of our society, since it is thanks to it that we were capable of handling many diseases and conditions that would have otherwise remained incurable and unnoticed.
And among the studies that focus on microscopic entities, we have one that is known as Histology. Also referred to as microanatomy or microscopic anatomy, as shown at Wikipedia, it is a branch of biology that solely focuses on the study of the anatomy of microscopical tissue.
A Little Introduction to Histology
This specific branch of biology usually tries to understand the role of a specific type of tissue in the body of a biological organism, its anatomy and structure, the way these issues interact with the different systems of the body, and how it is influenced by diseases.
Something to note is that histology often covers different types of microscopic studies, although histology itself solely focuses on tissue. For example, organology, which studies organs, and cytology, which focuses on cells, are often put under the flag of histology as well.
What is Considered as a Tissue?
A tissue is pretty much a combination of cells that create a larger group of cells that share a particular function, and that is capable of handling a specific need of the body, whether small or big.
Just so you know, all of the organs of the body are actually composed of many different types of tissues, and these organs are the ones making it possible for our bodies to work as intended. From our lungs to our heart, without them, it is pretty much impossible to be alive.
That is why histology is very important since it is in charge of the study of the tissues that compose our bodies, their behavior, functionality, and the way they are influenced by external forces, from bacteria to viruses.
Essential to Understand Diseases
Many diseases out there actually start in the tissue of different areas of the body. A good example is a cancer, which is an anomaly that is known to cause an overgrowth of tissue and cells, which can be fatal on many occasions.
Thus, the studies of these microorganisms and the way they compact together and work, play an important role in the understanding of terrific diseases and the way they can be handled, as well as how they slowly or rapidly develop themselves in different circumstances.
It Allows a Better Understanding of Ourselves
Human beings have a large story as residents of the world. It is said that humans have existed for at least 200,000 years, which is an incredible amount of time if you think about it.
And as time went by, we evolved and changed our physiology to adapt ourselves to different changes occurring in the world, as well as to become more capable of surviving different circumstances. Unsurprisingly, the world of histology and its many studies played an important role in understanding our evolution and our history throughout several centuries!
Take for example our brain. It is said that our brains evolved considerably fast throughout history, becoming larger and much more complex as time passed. It is said that, during our existence, the size of our brains pretty much tripled! And nowadays it is the most complex brain of any living primate in the world.
Not only that, but our bodies also changed considerably, which also resulted in our organs, bones, and muscles evolving as well, growing in size and complexity.
Understanding this complex level of evolution as well as the way in which this influenced our survival in the world is only possible thanks to the study of histology, and of course, many other branches of biology. Only thanks to it, it is possible for us to appreciate the long road we have walked as a species.
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