What is included in a simple cuboidal cell?

Answer 1

A simple cuiboidal cell is usually a part of an epithelium, and has all the components of normal, nucleated cells. It therefore will include the following structures: a nucleus, an endoplasmic reticulum, a golgi apparatus, various mitochondria, ribosomes, cytoplasm, peroxysomes, and a full host of proteins, ions, and enzymes throughout the cytoplasm. It's bound by a plasma membrane, and will exhibit a variety of proteins in that membrane depending on where it is in the body. Really the only difference between it and non-epithelial cells is its ability to form 'gap-junctions' with other epithelial cells around it, allowing for tight connections and close communication between cells.

Answer 2

In the renal cortex locate other examples of simple cuboidal epithelium. Locate a renal corpuscle (a glomerulus encased in a Bowman's capsule) and note that there are tubules surrounding it. In cross section these tubules appear as daisy-shaped structures. The proximal tubules are eosinophilic (pink-staining) with an indistinct lumen (since they have a brush border of microvilli). The paler distal tubules are smaller in diameter than the proximal tubules but have a larger lumen (they have no brush border).