Describe the nerve supply of epithelial tissue.

• A. It is richly supplied with nerve fibers
• B. It has no nerve supply
• C. It is poorly supplied with nerve fibers
• D. It has nerve fibers only in the basement membrane

Answer: (A)

Epithelial tissue is avascular, which means it has no blood vessels of its own, but it is richly innervated. Nerve fibers run in the underlying connective tissue (the lamina propria in mucosa or the dermis in skin) and reach up to the base of the epithelium, providing sensory input such as touch, pain, and temperature. The basement membrane is just a boundary between the epithelium and the connective tissue, not a site where nerve fibers primarily reside. This arrangement lets the epithelium sense its environment through nerves in the nearby connective tissue while lacking its own blood supply.