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FCPS Part 1 Histology MCQs
Histology questions test epithelia, connective tissue, cartilage and bone, muscle types and the characteristic microscopic features of organs.
Below are 5 free single-best-answer questions drawn from the most frequently examined histology concepts, each with the answer and a rationale for every option. The full bank has 46 histology concepts, each asked several different ways.
Free histology questions
Question 1
Stem cell that repairs bronchiolar lining after injury:
- A. Basal cells
- B. Type I pneumocytes
- C. Kulchitsky cells
- D. Goblet cells
- E. Clara (club) cells
Show answer
Answer: E. Clara (club) cells
Club cells secrete CC16 (uteroglobin) and surfactant-like material, detoxify via cytochrome P450, and act as progenitors for bronchiolar epithelium.
Why not the others: Goblet cells thin out and are absent by terminal bronchioles. Type I and II pneumocytes line alveoli. Kulchitsky cells are neuroendocrine and scattered.
High-yield: Goblet cells end before terminal bronchioles; club cells take over.
Question 2
Glial cell wrapping central axons in myelin:
- A. Oligodendrocytes
- B. Schwann cells
- C. Astrocytes
- D. Ependymal cells
- E. Microglia
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Answer: A. Oligodendrocytes
One oligodendrocyte extends processes to myelinate segments of several CNS axons, and their loss produces the demyelinating plaques of multiple sclerosis. In the PNS, each Schwann cell myelinates one segment.
Why not the others: Schwann cells: PNS myelin. Astrocytes: support the blood-brain barrier and scar formation. Microglia: CNS macrophages. Ependymal cells: line ventricles and produce CSF flow. Satellite cells: surround ganglion neurons.
High-yield: CNS myelin = oligodendrocytes (many axons); PNS myelin = Schwann cells (one segment).
Question 3
Nissl granules in a neuronal cell body are composed of:
- A. Smooth endoplasmic reticulum
- B. Peroxisomes
- C. Rough (granular) endoplasmic reticulum
- D. Golgi apparatus
- E. Lysosomes
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Answer: C. Rough (granular) endoplasmic reticulum
Nissl bodies are stacks of rough ER with attached ribosomes, staining basophilic from ribosomal RNA. They synthesise secretory and membrane protein.
Why not the others: Smooth ER: steroids, detoxification, calcium. Golgi apparatus: packages what the RER makes. Lysosomes: degradation. Peroxisomes: fatty acid oxidation and peroxide breakdown.
High-yield: Granular or rough ER = protein synthesis for secretion; Nissl substance is absent from the axon hillock.
Question 4
Protein filling the dead corneocytes of the stratum corneum that makes skin waterproof:
- A. Desmin
- B. Elastin
- C. Melanin
- D. Keratin
- E. Collagen
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Answer: D. Keratin
The stratum corneum is composed of flattened dead corneocytes packed with keratin, forming a tough water-impermeable layer that limits fluid loss and pathogen entry.
Why not the others: Melanin: UV protection. Collagen: dermal strength. Elastin: dermal recoil. Desmin: muscle intermediate filament. Vimentin: mesenchymal intermediate filament.
High-yield: Waterproof epidermis = keratin in stratum corneum.
Question 5
Chromatolysis after axonal transection reflects dispersal of which cell body component?
- A. Nissl granules
- B. Axolemma
- C. Neurofilaments
- D. Synaptic vesicles
- E. Axon hillock
Show answer
Answer: A. Nissl granules
Nissl granules are rough ER with free ribosomes. After axonal injury the cell body shifts to protein synthesis for repair, so the granules disperse, the soma swells and the nucleus moves to the periphery.
Why not the others: Neurofilaments: cytoskeleton, not what disperses. Axolemma: axon membrane. Synaptic vesicles: terminal structures. Axon hillock: initial segment, lacks Nissl substance.
High-yield: Chromatolysis = dispersed Nissl granules, swollen soma, peripheral nucleus.
Keep going with histology
Anaesgen brings every concept back on a spaced-repetition schedule timed to your exam date, as a different question each time, with full mock papers for Paper 1 and 2.
Get full access Try the 5 sample questionsHigh-yield histology one-liners
The most-tested histology concepts, as a clue and the answer it points to:
- Bronchiolar progenitor / terminal bronchiole secretory cell → club (Clara).
- CNS myelin, multiple sclerosis, corticospinal tract → oligodendrocytes.
- Nissl granules, secretory protein synthesis, ribosome-studded membrane → rough ER.
- Stratum corneum, waterproofing, keratinocyte maturation → keratin.
- Chromatolysis, axonal injury → Nissl granules (rough ER) disperse.
- Granulosa cells around oocyte, FSH aromatase → ovarian follicle.
- Bladder, stretch dome cells, renal pelvis to proximal urethra → transitional epithelium.
- Cuboidal, surfactant, alveolar stem cell → type II pneumocyte.
- Major salivary gland, mostly mucous acini → sublingual.
- GFAP, glial scar, blood–brain barrier, K+ buffering → astrocytes.
- Serous acini, ducts, connective tissue lobules → salivary gland.
- Calcium release, detoxification, steroid synthesis, no ribosomes → smooth ER.
- Terminal bronchiole, club cells, no goblet cells → simple cuboidal epithelium without goblet cells.
- Largest external surface, barrier, UV vitamin D → skin.
- Germinativum, mitotic stem cells, epidermal regeneration → stratum basale.
- Oblique transverse canal, marrow to cortex, links Haversian canals → Volkmann canal.
- Knee trauma, synovial fluid, type II collagen → articular cartilage.
- Club cells, no goblet cells, no cartilage → terminal bronchioles.
- Basal bodies, 9+0 triplets, microtubule triplets → centrioles.
- Mallory body, cytokeratin, desmin, vimentin, lamins → intermediate filaments.
Other FCPS Part 1 subjects
AnatomyPharmacologyPathologyBiochemistry & GeneticsCardiovascularNeurophysiologyMicrobiologyHaematologyGeneral PhysiologyImmunologyEndocrineRespiratoryEmbryologyObstetrics & GynaeRenal & Acid-BaseGI & LiverPhysicsBiostatistics
New to the exam? Read the FCPS Part 1 exam guide: dates, format and a 12-week study plan.