EPITHALAMIUM. 160 the Greeks Sappho's epithalamia and hymeneals were prized above all other-,: but Alcman. Ana- creon Stesichorus, Pindar, and others also com- posed' such marriage hymns. At Rome, in the first century B.C., the Alexandrine school of poets practiced epithalamia after Greek models. Three by Catullus are extant (Xos. 61. 62, and 64) in which the Greek form is greatly modified. The epithalamium gradually became a laudatory poem on the occasion of a wedding, and this form of it was cultivated in the Imperial period. A col- lection of certain Latin epithalamia. with an introductory essay, is to he found in Wernsdorf, , Minores, vol. iv. (Helmstcdt, EPITHALAMIUM. A poem by Edmund Spenser written to celebrate his marriage to Elizabeth Boyle (June 11, 1.394). It was pub- lished by Ponsonby, with a dedication to Sir Robert Needham, in the ensuing year. EPTTHE'LIO'MA (Neo-Lat., from 'Ok. evt, epi, upon + 6vW, thele, nipple, from 8av. than, to suckle). A variety of cancer, which attacks surf - covered with epithelium or epidermis. See Tumor. EP'ITHE'LIUM ("Neo-Lat., from Gk. M, epi, upon + 6-n-h, thfle. nipple). A tissue widely dis- tributed in the animal body. Its main function li'i. 'J. EPITHELIUM. Modified: (a) ciliated, (b) goblet, (c) pigment- ed. IV. Special: (a) glandular, (b) neuro- epithelium. ]. Squamous Epithelium, (a) Simple Squa- mous Epithelium. — This is not abundant in the human body. It lines the air-spaces of the —a! FlG. 3. TRANSITIONAL EPITHELIUM OP BLADDER. Magnified 300 times: .•>, superficial layer of cells ^b, in- c. deep layer of cells ; d, fibrous FlG. 1. SQUAMOUS EPITHELIUM OP EPIDERMIS. Magnified 250 times, a, squamous cell ; b, nucleus. maj be said to be that of acting as a covering for various surfaces, both external and internal, and as the active structural elements of those organs of the body which arc known as glands. Thus, as the outer layer of the skin, epithelium cov- ers the entire body, and forms the hair, nails, sweat glands, etc. H covers all the mucous mem- branes, thus lining the entire respira- tor} i ract . i he ito ■ urinary t ract, and the alimentary canal. It forms the esseni ial elements of the true glands, such I pitbelium as the liver, pan- , reas, and submaxil- Magnlfled 2 liver- ] ary . Epithelium "' '•' maj be classified as follows: [.Squamous: (a) Bimple, (b) stratified. II. I (a) imple, I b i s( ratified. III. terineiliute layer of cells tissue. lungs, the membranous labyrinth of the ear, and occurs in a few other places. It consists of a single layer of flat cells, presenting the appear- ance of a mosaic when seen from the Hat surface. lli) Stratified Squamous Epithelium. — Here the eel Is are laid down in several layers, only the surface cells being flat, the deeper lay- ers irregular or cuboidal in shape, the in- nermost layer resting on a distinct mem- brane, the membrana propria. Sometimes the cells of the middle layers are united by minute spines and are known as prickle cells. The main location of this form of epithelium are the skin and all its openings — the oesophagus, larynx, pharynx, ureter, bladder, pelvis of the kidney, the entire female urethra, and the terminal por- tion of the male urethra. II. Columnab Epithelium, (a) Simple. — This consists of a single layer of columnar cells placed side by side, their bases resting on a thin membrane, the membrana propria or basement membrane. Epithelium of this type lines the entire alimentary tract, the duets of glands, and their alveoli and portions of the male urethra. FlG. -1. COLUMNAR EPITHELIUM OK INTESTINE. Magnified 300 Mm «: a. layer <>f columnar epifcb Hal cells; b, striated hem ol epithelial cells ; c, couscell, (b) Stratified Columnar Epithelium. — Only the surface cells are truly columnar, the deeper layers bi ing made up of cells irregular in shape. It is not widely distributed, examples being found in the '".-, deferens and in the nasal fossa}. III. Modified Epithelium, (a) Ciliated. —
