The format of Essential Human Histology departs considerably from that of the usual presentations on human tissue/organ biology. This presentation was not designed as a formal reference textbook but as a tool solely for students and is designed for rapid student learning as well as rapid review in preparation for USMLE examinations. Essential Human Histology focuses the beginning student's attention on the most important aspects of this discipline which are presented as a series of learning units. In general, the text follows the traditional and logical sequence of cells to tissues to organs, but within this sequence, the discussion on mitosis is presented immediately after the cell and discussion on meiosis just prior to a consideration of the reproductive systems. To understand human structural biology, it is essential to learn a specialized vocabulary and to assimilate a large body of facts. Learning, as distinct from memorization, depends to a great degree on repetition and reinforcement and is made easier if the material to be learned can be presented in discrete, manageable segments. The format of Essential Human Histology is designed specifically to meet these requirements and, if used properly, will enable the student to master this knowledge quickly and efficiently