Integumentary System

consists of skin and accessory structures (hair, glands, and

nails). Integument means covering. The appearance of the
integumentary system can indicate physiological imbalances
in the body.

Stratum Corneum
Most superficial stratum of epidermis, consists of dead
squamous cells filled with keratin, which gives the stratum
corneum its structural strength. Cells of the deepest strata
perform mitosis. As new cells form. They push older cells to
the surface, where they slough, or flake off.

Functions
1. Protection
2. Sensation
3. Vitamin D production
4. Temperature Regulation
5. Excretion

Skin
Made up of two major layers: epidermis and dermis. Dandruff
Epidermis rests on the dermis. Most superficial layer. Excessive sloughing of stratum corneum cells from the surface
of the scalp.
Dermis layer of dense connective tissue.
Callus
Subcutaneous tissue is where skin rests. Layer of connective
A thickened area produced when skin is subjected to friction.
tissue. Not part of the skin.
The number of layers in the stratum corneum greatly
Epidermis (upon the dermis) increases.
Corn
The most superficial layer of skin. Is a keratinized stratified
squamous epithelium. Protects against abrasion, reduces Cone-shaped structure formed by the thickening of the
water loss. It is a cutaneous membrane. Contains no blood stratum corneum over a bony prominence.
vessel. Has distinct layers called strata: Dermis
1. Stratum Corneum Composed of dense collagenous connective tissue containing
2. Stratum Lucidum fibroblasts, adipocytes, and macrophages. Nerves, hair
3. Stratum Granulosum follicles, smooth muscles, glands, and lymphatic vessels
4. Stratum Spinosum extend into the dermis. Collagen fibers, oriented in many
5. Stratum Basale directions, and elastic fibers are responsible for the structural
strength of the dermis and resistance to stretch. Some
collagen fibers are oriented more directions than others,
forming cleavage lines.
 Cleavage Lines Melanin Transfer to Keratinocytes
Or tension lines, in the skin, are more resistant to stretch. An
incision made parallel with these lines tends to gap less and
produce less scar tissue. If the skin is overstretched, stretch
marks may be left due to damage to the dermis.

Large amounts of melanin form freckles or moles. Melanin

production is determined by genetic factors, exposure to
light, and hormones. Amount, kind and distribution. Exposure
to UV light stimulate melanocytes to increase melanin
production – suntan.
Albinism
A single mutation that can prevent production of melanin.

Carotene
Yellow pigment found in plants, such as carrots and corn.
Lipid-soluble; when consumed, it accumulates in the lipids of
the stratum corneum and in the adipocytes of the dermis and
subcutaneous tissue. If large amounts of carotene are
consumed, skin becomes yellowish.
Blood Circulating through the Skin
The color of blood in the dermis contributes to skin color.
Decrease in blood flow can cause the skin to pale. Decrease in
Oxygen content in blood produces bluish color of skin called
Cyanosis.
Dermal Papillae Subcutaneous Tissue
Projections toward the epidermis found in the upper part of Sometimes called hypodermis. It attaches the skin to
the dermis. Contain many blood vessels. The dermal papillae underlying bone and muscle and supplies it with blood vessels
under the thick skin of the palms of the hands and soles of the and nerves. Consists of loose connective tissue including
feet lie in parallel, curving ridges that shape friction ridges to adipose tissue that contains half the body’s stored lipids. Can
form fingerprints and footprints. also be used to estimate body fat. Acceptable percentage of
Skin Color fat: 21% - 30% for females, 13% - 25% for males.
The factors that determine skin color include (1) pigments in Adipose Tissue
the skin, (2) blood circulating through the skin, and (3) the Amount and location vary with age, sex and diet. Functions as
thickness of the stratum corneum. Two primary pigments: padding and insulation I the subcutaneous tissue.
melanin and carotene.
Hair
Melanin Found everywhere on the skin of humans, except palms,
Group of pigments primarily responsible for skin, hair, and eye soles, lips, nipples, parts of the genitalia, and distal segments
color. Also provides protection against ultraviolet light from of the fingers and toes.
the sun. Most melanin molecules are brown to black
Hair Follicle
pigments, but some are yellowish to reddish. Produced by
melanocytes and then packaged into vesicles called Where hair arises from. An invagination of the epidermis that
melanosomes, which move into the cell processes of extends deep into the dermis.
melanocytes Epithelial cells phagocytize the tips of the Hair Shaft
melanocyte cell processes, thereby acquiring melanosomes. Protrudes above the surface of the skin. Root is below the
surface. Hair bulb is the expanded base of the root.
 Hair Structure Glands
A hair has a hard cortex, which surrounds a softer center Major glands: sebaceous glands and sweat glands
called the medulla. The cortex is covered by the cuticle, a Sebaceous Glands
single layer of overlapping cells that holds the hair in the hair
Simple, branched acinar glands, which most being connected
follicle. Hair is produced in the hair bulb, which rests on the
by a duct to the superficial part of a hair follicle. The produce
hair papilla. Hair papilla is an extension of the dermis that
sebum, an oily, white substance rich in lipids. Sebum is
protrudes into the hair bulb and contains blood vessels.
released by holocrine secretion and lubricates the hair and
Growth Stage the surface of the skin, which prevents drying and protects
During which hair is formed by mitosis of epithelial cells within against some bacteria.
the hair bulb; these cells divide and undergo keratinization. Sweat Glands
Resting Stage Two kinds: Eccrine and apocrine
Growth stops and the hair is held in the hair follicle. When the Eccrine Sweat Glands
next growth stage begins, a new hair is formed and the old
Simple, coiled, tubular glands that release sweat by merocrine
hair falls out.
secretion. Located in almost every part of skin esp. in palms
Hair Growth and soles. They produce a secretion that is mostly water with
Duration of each stage depends on individual hair. Eyelash a few salts. Have ducts that open onto the surface of the skin
grow 30 days, rest 105 days. Scalp hair grows 3 years, rests 1- through sweat pores and are for thermal regulation. Sweat
2 years. can also be released in the palms, soles, armpits, and other
Hair Color places because of emotional stress.

Determined by amount of melanin. Melanin decrease, hair Apocrine Sweat Glands

color fades. No melanin = white hair. Simple, coiled, tubular glands that produce a thick secretion
rich in organic substances. Glands open into hair follicles in
Arrector Pili Muscle
the armpit and genitalia. They become very active at puberty
Smooth muscle cells where hair follicle is attached. Can due to the influence of sex hormones. The secretion is
contract and cause the hair to become perpendicular to the generally odorless, but when released quickly breaks down by
skin’s surface. bacterial action giving body odor.
Hair Follicle
Glands of the Skin

(a) The hair follicle contains the hair and consists of a dermal and an
epithelial root sheath. (b) Enlargement of the hair follicle wall and hair bulb.
(c) Cross section of a hair within a hair follicle.
 Nails 3. The enzymatically converted molecule is carried by
the blood to the kidneys where it is converted again
A thin plate consisting of layers of dead stratum corneum cells
to the active form of Vitamin D.
that contain a very hard type of keratin. The nail root is
4. Vitamin D stimulates the small intestine to absorb
covered by skin, and the nail body is the visible portion of the
calcium and phosphate for many body functions.
nail. The cuticle, or eponychium, is stratum corneum that
extends onto the nail body and the nail root extends distally Temperature Regulation
from the nail matrix. Attaches to the underlying nail bed, Regulation of body temperature is important because the rate
located distal to the matrix. of chemical reactions within the body can be affected by
changes in body temperature. Even slight changes in body
temp. can cause enzymes to operate less efficiently and
disrupt the normal rates of chemical reactions in the body.
Exercise, fever, or a rise in environmental temperature tend
to raise body temperature. Excess heat in the body must be
rid of to maintain homeostasis. Blood vessels (arterioles) in
the dermis dilate, more warm blood flows from deeper
structures to the skin, and heat loss increases. Sweat also
assists in loss of heat through evaporative cooling. If body
temperature begins to drop below normal, heat can be
conserved by constriction of blood vessels, reducing blood
flow to the skin. Less heat is transferred from deeper
Nail Matrix structures to the skin, and heat loss is reduced. With smaller
amounts of warm blood flowing through the skin, skin temp.
Along with the bed are epithelial tissue with a stratum basale
decreases.
that gives rise to the cells that form the nail. A small part of
the matrix, the lunula, can be seen through the nail body as a
whitish, crescent-shaped area at the base of the nail. Cell
production within the nail matrix causes the nail to grow
continuously.
Integumentary System protection
The integumentary system is the body’s outer barrier,
defending it from harm:

1. Reduction in water loss.

2. Acts as a barrier that prevents microorganisms and
other foreign substances from entering the body.
3. Protects underlying structures against abrasion.
4. Melanin absorbs ultraviolet light and protects
underlying structures from its damaging effects.
5. Hair protection: The hair on the head acts as a heat
insulator, eyebrows keep sweat out of the eyes, the
eyelashes protect the eyes from foreign objects, and
hair in the nose and ears prevents dust and other
materials from entering.
6. Nails protect the ends of the fingers and toes from
damage and can be used in defense. Excretion
Vitamin D production Integumentary system plays a role in excretion, the removal
of waste products from the body. In addition to water and
1. UV light causes the skin to produce a precursor
salts, sweat contains a small amount of waste products,
molecule of vitamin D.
including urea, uric acid, and ammonia. Even when large
2. The precursor molecule is carried by the blood to the
amounts of sweat are lost, the quantity of waste products
liver where it is enzymatically converted.
eliminated in the sweat is insignificant.
 Diagnostic Aid Treatment of Burns
The integumentary system is useful in diagnosis because it is To prevent complications of deep partial-thickness and full-
observed easily. Cyanosis, a bluish color to the skin caused by thickness burns and to speed healing, skin grafts are often
decreased blood oxygen content, is an indication of impaired performed. In a procedure called the split skin graft, the
circulatory or respiratory function. Jaundice, a yellowish skin epidermis and part of the dermis are removed from another
color, can occur when the liver s damaged by a disease such part of the body and placed over the burn. When it is not
as viral hepatitis. Rashes and lesions in the skin can be possible to move skin from one part of the body to a burn site,
symptom of problems elsewhere in the body. physicians sometimes use artificial skin or grafts from human
Burns cadavers.

Injury to a tissue caused by heat, cold, friction, chemicals, Skin Cancer

electricity, or radiation. Classified according to depth. Partial- Most common type of cancer. Mainly caused by UV light
thickness burns are subdivided into first- and second-degree exposure. Fair-skinned people more prone. Prevented by
burns. Full-thickness burns are also called third-degree burns. limiting sun exposure and using sunscreens. UVA rays cause
tan and is associated with malignant melanomas. UVB rays
cause sunburn. Sunscreens should block UVA and UVB rays.

Aging and Integument

Blood flow decreases and skin becomes thinner due to
decreased amounts of collagen. Decreased activity of
sebaceous and sweat glands make temperature regulation
more difficult. Loss of elastic fibers cause skin to sag and
wrinkle.

Second-Degree Burn
Damage both the epidermis and dermis. Minimal dermal
damage causes redness, pain, edema, and blisters. Healing
takes approximately 2 weeks, and no scarring results. If the
burn goes deep into the dermis, the wound appears red, tan,
or white; may take several months to heal; and might scar.
Third-Degree Burn
Completely damage the epidermis and dermis. The region of
third-degree burn is usually painless because the sensory
receptors have been destroyed. Third-degree burns appear

Burn Healing
white, tan, brown, black, or deep cherry-red.
In all second-degree burns, the epidermis, including the
stratum basale where the stem cells are found, is damaged.
The epidermis regenerates from epithelial tissue in hair
follicles and sweat glands, as well as from the edges of the
wound. Deep partial-thickness and full-thickness burns take a
long time to heal, and they form scar tissue with disfiguring
and debilitating wound contractures.