How Do Environmental Factors Affect Tissue Histology?
Environmental factors such as exposure to chemicals, radiation, or pathogens can cause significant histological changes. For instance, chronic exposure to cigarette smoke can lead to metaplasia in the respiratory epithelium, where normal ciliated columnar epithelium is replaced by squamous epithelium. Similarly, exposure to ultraviolet radiation can cause DNA damage in skin cells, leading to conditions like actinic keratosis.
