Stratified squamous epithelium is made up of multiple layers of cells where the superficial (apical) cells are flattened even though the more basal cells are square. Therefore, stratified squamous epithelium gets its name because the most apical cells being flat and not the basal cells being square.
This tissue is found in the mouth, esophagus, skin, and vagina. While the apical cells of the skin are keratinized the nothers are not and are said to be nonkeratinized stratified squamous epithilum. When comparing the skin slides to these slides, you will note that the apex has nucleiated cells of the non keratinized epithelium.
The slides on this page were taken by my anatonmy students in the spring of 2024.
