The Med School Resources series is a compilation of the most useful resources for studying medicine. To check out the other articles, click on the links below:
Histology Textbooks and Atlases
Junqueira’s Basic Histology
What is it: Junqueira’s Basic Histology is the “trusted classic” of human histology that is both accessible and comprehensive. It features high-resolution light and electron micrographs with key illustrations. There are self-test questions in every chapter, as well as summary tables and clinical correlations presented with each topic.
How I use it: I use Junqueira’s very occasionally for reference, for instance, to find a nice micrograph with the accompanying text explanation for a particular structure. Most medical students would find their school’s histology slides sufficient as the mainstay for studying histology. If additional information or visualisation is required, Google Images is often leveraged first as a speedy consult.
The cost: S$108.33 for the paperback on Amazon. Free for the eBook if your school has an institutional subscription (or if you are resourceful enough).
Take a look: View a preview of Junqueira’s Basic Histology:
Wheater’s Functional Histology
What is it: Wheater’s Functional Histology is another great choice for a histology text and atlas. It offers a concise text with a strong focus on images and histology slides. Similar to Junqueira’s, review tables and clinical boxes aid in summarising key pointers and relating histology to the clinical context.
How I use it: I don’t use Wheater’s. As explained in a separate article, I believe in “minimalism” when selecting and using textbooks. I mainly stick with Junqueira’s for anything histology. Nevertheless, Wheater’s is an amazing book and can easily substitute for Junqueira’s.
The cost: S$102.90 for the paperback on Amazon. Free for the eBook if your school has an institutional subscription (or if you are resourceful enough).
Take a look: View sample pages of Wheater’s Functional Histology:
Which Is the Best Histology Textbook and Atlas?
Most histology textbooks are two-in-one texts and atlases. The two books listed above (Junqueira’s and Wheater’s) are classic top choices and should be more than sufficient for studying histology in medical school. Other options have been purposefully left out of this article to highlight the best ones.
For a complete list of the best textbooks for medical school, you may head over to this other article from this series. There, you’ll find a few more options appended for your consideration.
Online Resources for Learning Histology
The Histology Guide – University of Leeds
What is it: The Histology Guide – University of Leeds is an online resource with histological slides and accompanying text that is very concise and easy-to-digest.
How I use it: As with the other online resources listed here, I don’t use it very much. This is largely because each medical school has their own set of histology slides, and I depend mainly on my school’s. However, histology is a very visual subject and looking at more slides will probably help you get the hang of deciphering the fifty shades of pink. (Just that I usually default to the efficiency of a Google search, rather than browsing through any one resource.)
Why it’s trustworthy: This resource was created by the Faculty of Biological Sciences at the University of Leeds.
The cost: Everything on the site can be accessed for free.
Take a look: View The Histology Guide page on Arteries as an example:
Michigan Histology and Virtual Microscopy Learning Resources
What is it: Michigan Histology and Virtual Microscopy Learning Resources is a comprehensive set of virtual slides which can be viewed on their slide viewer across computers and mobile devices. Besides browsing the Virtual Slide List, you can even access guided lessons and review questions for each topic. u
How I use it: As with the other online resources listed here, I don’t use it very much. (Read about why above.) It is slightly more comprehensive than the University of Leeds’ resource.
Why it’s trustworthy: This digital microscopy resource is provided by the Department of Cell & Developmental Biology at the University of Michigan Medical School.
The cost: The content on the website is available for free.
Take a look: View the Michigan Histology page on Cardiovascular System as an example:
Histology at Yale
What is it: Histology@Yale is Yale University’s version of the University of Michigan’s online histology resource. They also have modules organised by topic, with labelled histology slides and explanatory text for each.
How I use it: As with the other online resources listed here, I don’t use it very much. (Read about why above.) The level of depth in their modules is similar (perhaps slightly less) in comparison to the University of Michigan’s. I don’t read the text, however, and usually find and view their labelled histology slides via Google Images.
Why it’s trustworthy: This resource was developed by Peter Takizawa, Director of Medical Studies at the Department of Cell Biology at Yale School of Medicine.
The cost: The resource in completely free.
Take a look: View the Histology@Yale page on Arteries as an example:
Other Online Histology Resources
All of the resources listed above are free to access. It is worth noting that these are not the only online histology resources out there. Several other medical schools offer similar web-based resources that are freely accessible.
You can find the complete list of all free online histology resources at the end of this article (including the first three mentioned above). Note that some schools’ resources are archived and no longer updated (though I don’t think human histology has changed much in that time). You can usually tell from the less modern look of their websites.
Which Is the Best Online Histology Learning Resource?
Once again, there is no single best resource. Often your school’s set of histology resources would be your first point of contact with any topic. Thereafter, if you are highly efficient and have the time to peruse other resources, any of the other universities’ databases as well as histology textbooks listed above are great supplements.
When accessing online resources, I would go with either Michigan or Yale’s website as a first point of reference. Alternatively, Google Images will turn up a wealth of images from different resources all on one page.
List of Free Online Histology Resources
(Ranked roughly in order of recommendation / utility)
- The Histology Guide – University of Leeds
- Michigan Histology and Virtual Microscopy Learning Resources
- Histology@Yale
- Histology Guide – virtual microscopy laboratory
- WebPath: Pathology images and text for medical education
- Histology Lab Manual – Columbia University
- NYU SOM Curriculum Websites
- Histology Laboratory Web Pages – Indiana State University
- Duke University Medical School – Histology (currently uses the University of Michigan slide collection i.e. same as no. 2 on this list; however their accompanying text may be different)
- Virtual Histology – The University of British Columbia (have to download Aperio ePathViewer for iPad)
- LUMEN Histology home page – Stritch School of Medicine
- SIU SOM Histology
- Histology Resources | PEER Program (Youth STEM Promotion)
- Atlas of Microscopic Anatomy A Functional Approach – Histology
- Index of Dr.Jastrow’s electron microscopic atlas
Please feel free to share your favourite resources too, especially if they aren’t listed above! Simply leave a comment below. Don’t forget to check out the other articles in the Med School Resources series. (Disclaimer: TLM has no affiliation to any of the above products or companies. All embedded links lead directly to the official site of the stated resource.)