Integumentary system

The Integumentary System

• Integument is skin
• Skin and its appendages make up the
integumentary system
• A fatty layer (hypodermis) lies deep to it
• Skin is an organ because it consists of different
tissues – largest organ in the body
• Dermatology is the medical specialty concerning
the diagnosing and treatment of skin disorders
• Layers of skin
– Epidermis
– Dermis
 Functions of skin
• Protection
– Cushions and insulates and is waterproof
– Protects from chemicals, heat, cold, bacteria
– Screens UV
• Synthesizes vitamin D with UV
• Regulates body temperature – during high
temperature or strenuous exercise sweat is
evaporated from the skin surface to cool it down.
– vasodilation (increases blood flow) and
vasoconstriction (decrease in blood flow)
regulates body temp
 Functions of skin
• Prevents unnecessary water loss
• Sensory reception (nerve endings) - nerve
endings and receptor cells that detect stimuli to
temp, pain, pressure and touch
• Excretion - sweat removes water and small
amounts of salt, uric acid and ammonia from the
body surface
• Blood reservoir - dermis houses an extensive
network of blood vessels carrying 8-10% of total
blood flow in a resting adult
 Types of skin
• Thick skin and thin skin
• Most of the body is made up of thin skin
• Thick skin is nonhairy, found on the palm
region of the hand and sole of the foot
• Thick and thin skins are due to the
thickness of the epidermis
 Epidermis
• Consists of stratified squamous keratinized
epithelium
• This contains cells called keratinocytes
• Also contains special cells like
– Melanocytes - make skin pigment melanin
– Merkel cells – associated with sensory nerve endings
– Langerhans cells – macrophage-like dendritic cells
• Layers of epidermis (from deep to superficial)
– Stratum basale or germinativum
– Stratum spinosum
– Stratum granulosum
– Stratum lucidum
– Stratum corneum
Epidermis and dermis of (a) thick skin and (b) thin skin
Thick skin – skin (slide 45)

Stratum
corneum

Stratum
lucidum

Stratum
granulosum
Stratum
spinosum

Stratum
basale

Dermis
 Stratum basale (germinativum)
• Deepest layer
• Contains single layer of columnar or cuboidal
shaped keratinocytes which lie on the basement
membrane
• Cells divide and push already formed cells into
higher layers
• As the cells move into the higher layers, they
flatten and eventually die
• Melanocytes and Merkel cells are also located at
stratum basale
• Melanocytes are responsible for synthesis and
release of brown pigment melanin
– Melanin transported along dendrites of the
melanocytes to keratinocytes
– Melanin accumulates on the superficial aspect
of the keratinocyte shielding its nucleus from
harmful UV light
– lack of melanin: albino
• Merkel cells are specialized touch receptors -
make contact with a sensory neuron ending
• Stratum spinosum:
• Contains 8-10 layers of polyhedral cells (with
many sides)
• Cells are often separated by narrow, translucent
clefts
• The cells have numerous spine-like (prickle)
cytoplasmatic extensions
• These spines of one cell are connected that of
neighboring cells by desmosomes
• The cells produce a protein called cytokeratin
which aggregate to form intercellular fibrils
known as tonofibrils
• Also has Langerhans cell, which functions as a
macrophage by engulfing bacteria, foreign
particles, and damaged cells that occur in this
layer
Epithelium: layers (on left) and cell types (on right)
• The stratum granulosum
• The cells becomes flat (3 to 5 layers) and accumulate
many large, basophilic keratohyaline grannules
• The nuclei and other cellular organs begin to disintegrate
and cells begin to die
• The stratum lucidum (clear layer)
• Consists of several layers of clear flat dead cells
• Faint nuclear outlines are visible in only a few of the cells
• The keratinocytes of the stratum lucidum do not have
distinct boundaries and are filled with eleidin, an
intermediate form of keratin
• Makes the skin waterproof, which makes it known as the
barrier layer of the skin
• This layer is present only in the thick skin
 Stratum corneum
• Cells are keratinized (filled with keratin) and form a layer that
is about 30 cells thick
• Individual cells are difficult to observe because
– nuclei can no longer be identified
– the cells are very flat
– the space between the cells has been filled with lipids,
which cement the cells together into a continuous
membrane
• Most superficial part of this layer has somewhat looser
appearance
• Cells are constantly shed from this part of the stratum
corneum - dandruff and flakes, 40 lbs. of skin flakes in a
lifetime
• This layer makes up three fourths of the epidermal thickness
• The protection of the body by the epidermis is due to the
functional features of the stratum corneum
 Thin skin - scalp (slide 48)
Epidermis

Arrector pili
muscle

Sebaceous
gland
Dermis

Hair follicle

Sweat gland
Thin skin-scalp (slide 48)
Arrector pili
muscle
Sebaceous
gland

Hair follicle

Sweat
gland
 Dermis
• Strong, flexible connective tissue layer
• Cells: fibroblasts, macrophages, mast cells, WBCs
• Fiber types: collagen, elastic, reticular
• Rich supply of nerves and vessels
• Critical role in temperature regulation (the vessels)
• Dermis of thick skin contains sweat glands
• Dermis of thin skin contains sweat glands,
sebaceous glands, hair follicles and arrector pili
muscles
• Two layers
– Papillary
– Reticular
• Papillary layer:
• Forms 1/5 of dermis – loose areolar connective tissue
• Highly vascular
• Forms dermal papillae - fingerprints
• Reticular (net) layer:
• Dense irregular connective tissue
• Has
– Sebaceous (oil) glands (in thin skin)
– Arrector pili muscles (in thin skin)
– Hair follicles (in thin skin)
– Sudoriferous (sweat) glands
– Meissner’s corpuscles and Pacinian corpuscles
 Hypodermis
• “Hypodermis” (Gk) = below the skin
• “Subcutaneous” (Latin) = below the skin
• Also called “superficial fascia”
• Fatty tissue which stores fat and anchors
skin (areolar tissue and adipose cells)
 Skin appendages
• Derived from epidermis but extend into
dermis
• Include
– Hair and hair follicles
– Sebaceous (oil) glands
– Sweat (sudoiferous) glands
– Nails
 Nails
• Made of hard, flexible plates of keratin
• Proximal part is called root of the nail and covered by fold of
skin
• Keratinized nail plate is bound to a bed of epidermis called
the nail bed
• Nail plate grows from nail matrix
• Cells of nail matrix divide, move distally and become
keratinized, form the nail root which matures as nail plate
• Hair is absent in the region
of palm, sole, lips, nipple,
external genitalia (glans
Hair (pili)
penis, clitoris and labia
minora)
• Composed of dead
columns of keratinized cells
– has 2 parts
- shaft: is the superficial
portion of hair
- root: below the surface in
the dermis
• Shaft and root are
composed of three layers:
inner medulla, middle
cortex (with keratin and
pigments) and outer cuticle
 Hair
• The root of a hair is situated in an epidermal
tube known as the hair follicle, extending into the
dermis
• The hair follicle is dilated at its base to form the
hair bulb
• The dermal papilla invigilates into the bulb which
contains blood capillaries
• Arrector pili muscle extends from the deep part
of the hair follicle to the papillary layer of the
dermis
• Muscle is supplied by the sympathetic nerves
and makes the hair erect on contraction.
 Sebaceous (oil) glands
• Found in the
dermis of thin
skin
• Opens into the
upper portion of
hair follicle
• Produce sebum
by holocrine
secretion
• Oils and
lubricates
• Entire skin surface
except nipples and Sweat glands
part of external
genitalia
• Prevent
overheating
• 500 cc to 12 l/day
(is mostly water)
• Sweat is produced
in response to
stress as well as
heat
• Has acinus lined
by columnar cells
 Types of sweat glands
• Eccrine or merocrine
– Most numerous
– True sweat: 99% water, some salts, traces of waste
– Open through pores
• Apocrine
– Axillary, anal and genital areas only
– Ducts open into hair follices
– The organic molecules in it decompose with time - odor
• Modified apocrine glands
– Ceruminous – secrete earwax
– Mammary gland – secrete milk