What is the study of the microscopic structure of tissues called?

The study of the microscopic structure of tissues is called histology. It examines how cells are organized into tissues and how those tissues form functioning organs.

Histology is often called microscopic anatomy because it explores structures too small to see with the unaided eye. Scientists usually preserve tissue, cut it into extremely thin sections, place those sections on slides, and apply stains that make nuclei and other components easier to distinguish. Hematoxylin and eosin, or H&E, is one of the most widely used staining combinations.

The field covers four basic animal tissue types: epithelial, connective, muscle, and nervous tissue. Histology is related to cytology, which focuses more narrowly on individual cells, while histopathology applies tissue study to disease diagnosis. In the 17th century, Marcello Malpighi used microscopes to investigate tissues and is often regarded as an early founder of microscopic anatomy. The term histology comes from Greek roots meaning the study of tissues.