Histology USMLE Step 1 Practice Question
A 54-year-old man comes to the clinic because of 4 months of progressive difficulty swallowing solid foods. He has a 30 pack-year smoking history and drinks alcohol daily. Upper endoscopy shows a friable distal esophageal mass, and biopsy is obtained from adjacent uninvolved mucosa. The normal mucosa from this region lacks keratin, is designed to resist abrasion from swallowed food, and contains multiple cell layers. Which of the following epithelial types normally lines this structure?
Answer choices
- AKeratinized stratified squamous epithelium
- BTransitional epithelium
- CNonkeratinized stratified squamous epitheliumCorrect answer
- DSimple columnar epithelium with goblet cells
- EPseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium
- FSimple cuboidal epithelium with mucus-secreting cells
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