THE INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM ▪ Excretion of small amounts of waste

products
Terms:
Epidermis
cutane/o, derm/o,dermat/o: skin
Layers/strata (from deep to superficial):
cyan/o: blue
Stratum Basale – single layer of cuboidal cells,
kerat/o: hard
actively grow and divide to produce new
melan/o: black epidermis, dips into the dermis of the skin to form

onych/o: nail hair follicles, when melanocytes (melanin for

pigment) are not evenly distributed the denser
seb/o: oil
patches are freckles and moles

Skin ▪ We all have the same number of

melanocytes as dark people, theirs just
- Largest organ
produce more melanin
- 15% of total weight
- Surface area: 1.2-2.2 sqm. Stratum Spinosum – simple cuboidal
- Weight: 4-5 kg/ 9—11 lbs.
Stratum Granulosum – laminated bodies for
Two layers: waterproofing , dead cells

Epidermis – most superficial layer, composed of Stratum Lucidum - found only in thick skin (lips,
stratified squamous epithelial tissue palm ,plantar, thick skin has no hair), few rows of
dead keratinocytes
Dermis- loose/areolar connective tissue over
dense irregular tissue. Contains the cutaneous Stratum Corneum – outermost layer of
glands, hair follicles and most nerve endings keratinized cells, may have as many as 20 layers,
tough waterproof dead cells the flake off
Hypodermis – aka subcutaneous layer, not part of
(exfoliate)
the skin, it attaches the skin to the rest of the
body. Adipose connective tissue, serves as Cells:
insulating layer, cushion and energy source.
Keratinocytes – they grow and divide, filled with
Generally thicker in women than men.
keratin (hard, waterproof protein) as they move
st
Functions: (1 line of defense) toward surface, when they reach stratum
corneum they are completely filled and dead
▪ Protection from pathogens and UV light
(cornification), begin in Stratum Basale
▪ Vitamin D production
▪ Temperature regulation ▪ They can take in melanin by pinching off
▪ Water regulation/ retention bits of melanocyte extensions called
▪ Sensation melanosome (melanin-filled vesicles)
▪ Non-verbal communication

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Tactile Cells – receptors for fine touch, at stratum
Basale and with nerve cells in dermis
Dendritic Cells – immune system cells at stratum
spinosum and granulosum. They alert the
immune system to the invasion of pathogens
Dermis
- True skin, bulk of skin
- Contain strong, flexible connective tissue
- Two layers: papillary and reticular (elastic
and collagen fibers oriented in one
direction)
Papillae – cone like projection, in direct contact
with epidermis, unique arrangement causes
fingerprint (ridges, sweat deposit) possess blood
vessels
Fibers –from areolar to dense irregular with
depth, the cells or fibroblasts produce elastin
(elasticity, come back when stretched) and
collagen (strength), fibers increases as it deepens
▪ Vitamin A and C are important for healthy
skin because they are essential for
collagen production
Nerve Endings – receptor for pain, pressure,
warm and cold
Cutaneous Glands - exocrine glands, secrete via
duct (endocrine are ductless and secreted in
blood). 2 basic types:
1. Sebaceous glands produce sebum or oil,
moisturizes skin and hair since its associated with
hair follicle, can remove sebum by soap wash and
replenish the moisture with lanolin- containing
lotion (lanolin is sebum by sheep).
Estrogen and testosterone increase amount of
sebum. Much more active at puberty, too much
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plugs the duct and forms a comedo which is a
whitehead or blackhead (blackhead of the plug
reaches the surface). Oil and excess cells of the
plug allow P. acnes to grow in the plugged
follicles. This causes inflammation that may result
in the breakdown of the hair follicle wall, pus may
form, causing a pimple or acne. Estrogen
increases during menstrual cycle and pregnancy
making it more prevalent.
2. Sweat Glands
a. Apocrine sweat gland– milky or lipid-rich
sweat, odor is caused by bacteria that feeds on it,
secrete through a duct leading to a hair follicle,
associated with axillary hair, pubic hair and beard
b. Merocrine sweat gland – secretes watery
sweat(with lactic acid, nitrogenous waste called
urea, salt) on surface of skin through a pore, most
numerous type of sweat gland located all over the
body highly concentrated on palmar and plantar,
helps cool the body through evaporation
c. Ceruminous gland – produce cerumen
(earwax), found only in ear canal and keeps the
eardrum flexible, the canal waterproof, kills
bacteria, and protects ear canal from foreign
debris
d. Mammary gland – breast milk (water,
carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and mineral),
found in breast and begins to develop at puberty
and fully develops at pregnancy, deliver via ducts
that end at nipple
Hair follicles
Dipped down stratum Basale, positioned at an
angle in the dermis where there is dermal papilla
at its base, dermal papilla has a blood vessel
which feeds the melanocytes(produce hair
pigment) and keratinocytes(produce hair).
Dermal papilla is the hair’s growth center, also Bulb – thickening of the hair at the end of the
contains nerves and blood vessels. Active follicle, site of hair formation
keratinocytes forms the hair matrix just above the
Root - from bulb to surface, below the skin
dermal papilla. Arrector pili muscle is a smooth
muscle that attaches the hair follicle’s base to the Shaft - section extending out of the skin,
epidermis at an angle making the hair stand determines hair texture ( round for straight, wavy
perpendicular/upright to the skin’s surface. for oval and curly is flat)
Goose bumps when there is a thicker layer of
Three layers: (cross section)
insulation to help keep the skin warm.
Inner medulla - soft keratin
Hair
Middle cortex – hard keratin
It is present wherever there is skin in our body. It
Cuticle – interlocking scaly plates of dead
is columns of dead, keratinized epithelial cells. It
keratinocytes
also has a life cycle but not all on the head are on
same schedule. Grows a half inch per month, lasts Nails
for about 3 years then goes to 1 or 2 years of
It is stratum Corneum containing hard keratin.,
resting stage then falls out. 90% are somewhere
forms on the distal end of fingers and toes. Unlike
in the growing stage at any given time. Normal to
hair they do not have resting stage, they just grow
lose 100 hairs every day. Alopecia is excessive loss
throughout. Good indicator of health ( ex.
of hair or baldness, happens when more than 100
Cyanosis)
hairs enter the resting stage simultaneously.
Eyelashes go through a shorter period of time, 30 Functions:
days to grow, 105 days to rest then fall out.
▪ Protect the ends of fingers and toes
Types: ▪ Aid in grasping small objects
▪ Used for scratching
Lanugo – very fine and unpigmented/colorless,
forms on a fetus during the last 3 months of its Parts :
development, usually replaced by birth
Nail root- covered by skin
Vellus – also unpigmented and very fine, replaces
Nail Plate – free edge of the nail body
lanugo at birth (e.g. on most women and
children) Nail body- lies on nail bed

Terminal – thick, coarse, heavily pigmented,
forms eyebrows, eyelashes and hair on scalp.
During puberty, forms in axillary and pubic areas.
Also on face and possibly on the trunk of men
Three sections:
Nail bed – appears pink because of dermis’ blood
vessels
Nail fold – skin rise, lateral, here the nail fits into
the Nail groove
Eponychium – cuticle, proximal edge of nail body

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Nail matrix – nail’s growth center , active
keratinocytes in the stratum Basale
Lunule/ Lunula – white crescent, nail matrix is
thick enough to cover blood vessels
Location : epidermis, dermis, hypodermis
Symptoms: charring and no pain (nerve endings
have been destroyed), there is pain from first and
second degree burns around it

Injuries to the Skin Infection and fluid loss

Regeneration – the wound is healed with the Rule of nines – extent of burn

same tissue that was damaged and normal 1 % genital

function returned
4.5% head and arms
Contact Inhibition – stratum Basale cells
9% feet
divide and fill laterally toward each other
18% torso
Fibrosis – the wound is healed with scar tissue,
normal function didn’t return

Granulation tissue - fibroblast’s collagen

fibers produce this to fill in the wound’s
clot

Wound contracture – scab forms and pulls the

edges of the wound closer together as it dries

Keloid - overgrowth of scar tissue,

hyperpigmented (pink), more common in African
Americans. Treatments can’t remove keloid but
can improve appearance (flatten and change
color)

Burns

First-degree - most common, sunburn,

location: epidermis

symptoms : redness, pain, swelling

Second- degree – partial-thickness burn

location : epidermis and dermis

symptoms: redness, pain, swelling, blisters,

treated by contact inhibition/regeneration

Third-degree - full-thickness burns, most serious

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