This
specimen illustrates a portion of a bronchiole
adjacent to several alveoli. Bronchioles typically have simple
cuboidal epithelium, in contrast to the pseudostratified
columnar epithelium of larger bronchi
and the trachea. Different types of
bronchiolar cells (ciliated and secretory) cannot be readily distinguished
in this image.
Blood
has been retained in blood vessels, so the conspicuous presence of red blood
cells serves to reveal the location of alveolar
capillaries.
