Universidad Nacional de Cuyo

Facultad de Ciencias Médicas

Facultad de Filosofía y Letras

ENGLISH IV BOOKLET
2023

TITULAR: Prof. Gabriela García

Jefas de Trabajos Prácticos: Prof. María Rosa Civit
Prof. Cecilia Pustavrh

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Integumentary System

A) Watch the video and use the information to answer the following questions:

1. Why is this system called ‘integumentary’?

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2. What does it consist of?
Skin and accesory structures.
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3. What would happen if the skin of an average size adult were spread out flat?
2 square meterse ando 4,5 kg.
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4. Mention at least three functions of the integumentary system
Protect the body of bacteria and virus.
Regulate the body temperature.
Excrete wastes.
Provides sensory reception.
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B) Read the following information:

What is the integumentary system?

Your integumentary system is your body’s outer layer. It’s made up of your skin, nails, hair and the
glands and nerves on your skin. Your integumentary system acts as a physical barrier — protecting
your body from bacteria, infection, injury and sunlight. It also helps regulate your body temperature
and allows you to feel skin sensations like hot and cold.

What makes up the integumentary system?

Your integumentary system is an organ that consists of a few main structures: skin, nails, hair and
glands, along with the nerves and blood vessels that support them.

SKIN

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Your skin is the largest and heaviest organ in your body. It weighs about six pounds (or more) and is
approximately 2 millimeters thick — thinner on sensitive areas like eyelids, and thicker on surfaces that
take more stress, like the soles of your feet. One inch of your skin contains nearly 19 million cells.

Your skin is composed of three layers, with nerves that recognize different sensations in each layer:

● Epidermis: The top layer of your skin. This is the part of your skin that you can see and touch.
It’s made up of three types of cells: melanocytes, keratinocytes and Langerhans. It gives your
skin its color and provides a waterproof barrier.
● Dermis: The middle layer of your skin. This layer is the thickest. It contains sweat and oil
glands and hair follicles.
● Hypodermis: The bottom layer of your skin. It’s the fatty layer of your skin that helps insulate
your body.

NAILS

Your nails protect the ends of your fingers and toes. The anatomy of your nail consists of:

● Nail plate: The hard part of your nail you can see.
● Nail bed: The skin under your nail plate.
● Cuticle: The thin skin at the base of your nail plate.
● Matrix: The “root” of your nail responsible for making it grow.
● Lunula: The white, moon-shaped part of your nail plate.

HAIR

Our hair does more than help us look nice. The hair on your head helps keep heat in your body. Your
eyelashes and eyebrows help protect your eyes from dirt and water.

Your hair is made of a protein called keratin. Your hair consists of three parts: the shaft, follicle and
bulb.

● Hair shaft: The part of your hair you can see, touch and style.
● Hair follicle: The tube-like structure that keeps your hair in your skin.
● Hair bulb: Located under your skin and responsible for hair growth.

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Goosebumps are caused by your integumentary system. We all have hair erector muscles connected to
our hair follicles and skin. When it contracts, it makes your hair stand up. The “goosebumps” are what
we see when these tiny muscles contract.

GLANDS

Glands are found throughout your skin. They release materials like water, salt or oil from under your
skin to the surface of your skin. Your integumentary system consists of the following glands:

● Sudoriferous glands: These are the glands that secrete sweat through your skin. There are two
types of sweat glands: eccrine glands and apocrine glands. Eccrine glands are all over your
body and open to your pores, while apocrine glands open into your hair follicles.
● Sebaceous glands: These glands produce sebum (oil) and give your face its oil.
● Ceruminous glands: These are the glands in your ear that secrete ear wax.
● Mammary glands: These are the glands on a person’s chest. In people assigned female at birth
(AFAB), mammary glands produce milk after giving birth.

FUNCTION
What is the purpose of the integumentary system?

Your integumentary system protects your body from infection and injuries you could get from your
external environment. It’s your body’s coat of armor and the first line of defense against viruses,
bacteria and other microbes. It shields your body from harmful light and helps regulate your body
temperature. Your integumentary system stores fat, water, glucose and vitamin D, and helps support
your immune system to protect you from diseases.

Your integumentary system has many important functions. It…

● Provides physical protection against bacteria and germs.

● Absorbs and helps heal abrasions, cuts and other injuries.
● Cushions and protects your body from infection.
● Protects you from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays and sunburn.
● Excretes sebum, sweat and other waste from your body.
● Regulates your body temperature and allows you to stay cool.

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● Helps you feel heat, cold and detect other sensations.
● Synthesizes vitamin D.

ANATOMY
How does the integumentary system work with other systems?

Your body is like a complex machine. All of your organs, body parts and systems work together to keep
everything in check and working as it should. Your integumentary system plays a role in helping other
systems maintain their functions.

For example, it helps your immune system because it’s the first line of defense against bacteria and
infection. It also sends white blood cells to injuries to begin the healing process.

Your integumentary system helps you absorb vitamin D, which acts as a hormone and is crucial to your
bone health because it affects calcium absorption.

The tiny hairs in your nose help your respiratory system because they filter out dust and other particles
before you inhale them into your lungs.

CONDITIONS AND DISORDERS

What are common conditions or disorders of the integumentary system?

Your integumentary system is unique because most health conditions associated with it are visible.
Unlike your internal organs, health conditions of your skin, hair and nails are typically external —
meaning you and your healthcare provider can see them.

Skin Disorders
Some of the most common skin disorders are:

● Allergies like contact dermatitis and poison ivy rashes.

● Blisters from trauma.
● Bug bites, such as spider bites, tick bites and mosquito bites.
● Skin cancer, including melanoma.
● Skin infections like cellulitis.
● Skin rashes and dry skin.

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● Skin disorders like acne, eczema, psoriasis and vitiligo.
● Skin lesions like moles, freckles and skin tags.
● Wounds, burns (including sunburns) and scars.

Hair Disorders

Hair loss is the most common condition that affects your hair. Some types of hair loss are temporary,
while others are permanent. The most common types of hair loss include:

● Alopecia areata: Patches of hair loss caused by an autoimmune disease.

● Androgenic alopecia: Baldness in both genders/sexes that’s based on genetics.
● Anagen effluvium: Loss of hair during its growth phase; this often occurs during medical
treatments like chemotherapy.
● Telogen effluvium: Loss of hair during its rest phase. It typically shows up a few months after
your body goes through something stressful or from hormonal changes.
● Traumatic alopecia: Hair loss due to damage to your scalp from hair styling, through rubbing
your scalp repeatedly against a surface or hat or by playing with and breaking your hair.

Other common conditions of hair that aren’t related to hair loss are:

● Dandruff: It causes white or yellow flakes on your scalp and hair shaft. It’s also known as
seborrheic dermatitis.
● Head lice: Tiny, crawling insects that live in a person’s head hair.
● Hirsutism: Excessive hair growth in people assigned female at birth.

Nail Disorders

Like the other structures of your integumentary system, your nails are always exposed. Nail issues can
be caused by your shoes, poor hygiene or from using nail files or trimmers incorrectly. Some of the
more common nail conditions are:

● Onychomycosis: Nail fungus in your fingernails or toenails.

● Onycholysis: When your nail separates from your nail bed.
● Psoriasis of the nails: A skin condition that causes pitting, nail discoloration and other
symptoms.
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● Lichen planus: A rash that appears as ridges or grooves on your nail.
● Paronychia: An inflammation or infection of the tissue directly surrounding your nail.

Gland disorders

Some conditions of the sweat and sebaceous glands are:

● Hyperhidrosis: Excessive sweating.

● Seborrheic dermatitis: Scaly, red patches that affect your face, chest or back. When it’s on your
head, it’s called dandruff.
● Sebaceous hyperplasia: A skin condition common in people who are older that causes small,
yellowish bumps on your skin.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/22827-integumentary-system#:~:text=It's%20made%20up%
20of%20your,sensations%20like%20hot%20and%20cold.

The skin has two major layers

which are made of different
tissues and have very different
functions. It is composed of the
epidermis and the dermis.
Below these layers lies the
hypodermis or subcutaneous
adipose layer, which is not
usually classified as a layer of
skin.
The outermost epidermis
consists of stratified squamous
keratinizing epithelium with an
underlying basement membrane.
It contains no blood vessels, and
is nourished by diffusion from
the dermis. The main type of
cells which make up the
epidermis are keratinocytes,
with melanocytes and
Langerhans cells also present.
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The epidermis can be further subdivided into the following strata (beginning with the outermost layer):
corneum, lucidum, granulosum, spinosum, basale. Cells are formed through mitosis at the innermost
layers. They move up the strata changing shape and composition as they differentiate, inducing
expression of new types of keratin genes. They eventually reach the corneum and become sloughed off
(desquamation). This process is called keratinization and takes place within about 30 days. This layer
of skin is responsible for keeping water in the body and keeping other harmful chemicals and
pathogens out.
Blood capillaries are found beneath the dermis, and are linked to an arteriole and a venule. Arterial
shunt vessels may bypass the network in ears, the nose and fingertips.
The dermis lies below the epidermis and contains a number of structures including blood vessels,
nerves, hair follicles, smooth muscle, glands and lymphatic tissue. It consists of loose connective
tissue otherwise called areolar connective tissue - collagen, elastin and reticular fibers are present.
Erector muscles, attached between the hair papilla and epidermis, can contract, resulting in the hair
fiber pulled upright and consequentially goose bumps. The main cell types are fibroblasts, adipocytes
(fat storage) and macrophages. Sebaceous glands are exocrine glands which produce a mixture of
lipids and waxy substances: lubrication, water-proofing, softening and antibactericidal actions are
among the many functions of sebum. Sweat glands open up via a duct onto the skin by a pore.

C) Consider the information you have listened and watched and what you already know and
prepare a short presentation of the integumentary system

D) The roots, suffixes and prefixes in the table below are related to the integumentary system.
Read how they are used in the examples and try to determine what their meanings are:
component meaning example

CUT- Skin subcutaneous layer = layer below the skin

DERMA- Skin dermatology = study of the skin and its diseases

EPI- Above epidermis = layer above the dermis

LIPO- Fat lipoatrophy = atrophy of fat below the skin

MELAN- Black pigment melanin = the black pigment in the skin

ONYCH- Nail onychectomy = excision of a nail

PACHY- Thick pachyderma = abnormal thickening of skin

SCLERO- Harden scleroderma = chronic hardening of the skin

SUDOR- Sweat sudorific = an agent that promotes sweat

-ITIS Inflammation dermatitis = inflammation of the skin

-OMA Tumor melanoma = black coloured skin tumour

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-OSIS fungal Infection dermatophytosis = a fungal infection of the skin

As you know and have seen in the video, the skin has several important functions.
Complete the gaps with the correct verb from the box (2 of them are used twice):

The skin ………

1. Protects our bodies from trauma.
2. Heals wounds.
3. Acts as a barrier to bacteria and viruses.
4. Produces vitamin D, essential for growth and bone maintenance.
5. Prevents us absorbing and losing excess water.
6. Secretes waste products.
7. Regulates our body temperature (thermoreceptors, sweat, vasodilation).
8. Senses what is happening in our external environment (touch, pressure, heat).
9. Protects against the invasion by infectious organisms.
10. Secretes sebum.
11. Advertises sexual maturity.
12. Disperses scents.

E) Read the information below:

It is important for the skin to repair quickly to prevent infection. If the epidermis is damaged it
will simply heal by regrowing to cover the damaged area. If the damage reaches into the
dermis and cuts the vessels, the blood will form a blood clot and healing of the wound will
begin.

Phases of Wound
Processes of wound healing
Healing
Inflammatory Blood clotting occurs. White blood cells are brought to the
Response wound site.
Wound Epithelial and fibroblast cells migrate beneath the clot and
Migratory Phase
healing the blood vessels regenerate (angiogenesis).
Epithelial cells proliferate (epithelialisation) beneath the
Proliferation Phase scab and the fibroblasts produce collagen and the wound is
pulled together.
Collagen fibres become more organized, pulling the
Maturation Phase
wound together.

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F) Imagine you are attending a training session given by a wound management Clinical
Nurse Specialist, Mr. John Simpkins, on wound bed preparation. Before listening, match
the medical terms (1-8) to their meanings (a-h):
Source: Allum, a. & McGarr, P., Cambridge English for Nursing, UK, CUP, 2008

term meaning
1. well-vascularize a. the transplantation of the skin from another part of the body to a
d. C wound which cannot heal on its own. 8.

2. viable. G b. excessive softness caused by too much moisture. 6

3. necrotic tissue. H c. good blood circulation is achieved , and the tissues are supplied
with oxygen and other nutrients. 1

4. high bacterial d. long-term or ongoing. 7

load. E

5. exudate. F e. a high level of infection carried by the tissues. 4.

6. maceration. B f. ooze or discharge from the wound. 5.

7. chronic. D g. able to grow or survive. 2

8. skin graft. A h. dead tissue 3

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G) Listen to the explanations and complete the handout with the words in the box:

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H) Read about some of the common Diseases and Disorders of the Integumentary System.
Use the information and any other you can find and prepare a short oral presentation for
next meeting. The grades will serve as credits for your oral final exam
Some of the common diseases of the integumentary system are as follows:
Alopecia Areata
This disease is a non-contagious autoimmune disorder, wherein, the immune system attacks the
hair follicles. Hair is lost in some or all regions of the body, mostly the scalp, thereby, resulting
into baldness. This condition is also known as spot baldness as it conduces to bald spots on the
scalp in the initial stages. About 0.1%-0.2% of humans (both males and females) are affected by
this condition and initial occurrence of this disease appears in early childhood, late teenage or
young adulthood, however, the disease can affect people of all ages.

Psoriasis
Another disease of the integumentary system is psoriasis, which is a chronic, non-contagious,
autoimmune disease. In this disease, red and scaly patches or lesions can be observed on the
skin. These scaly patches are called psoriatic plaques and are areas of inflammation and
increased skin production. The excessive production of skin conduces to accumulation of skin
cells that take on a silvery-white appearance. These plaques can be mostly found on the elbows
and knees, however, they can even affect the scalp and genitals.

Warts
These diseases of integumentary system are characterized by tiny, round, rough tumor found
typically on the hands and feet. Warts are conduced by the human papilloma virus, which
causes different types of warts like the common wart, flat wart, plantar wart, genital wart,
mosaic wart, etc. Warts can be contagious, and spreads from one person to another via contact.
They resemble a cauliflower or solid blister on the skin and can be contagious. In fact, when
situated on the feet, they can be quite exacerbating, however, they usually disappear after a few
months. If they don't, they can be removed safely as well.

Dermatitis
The word dermatitis is a general term used to describe inflammation of the skin. There are
different types of dermatitis, including seborrheic dermatitis and atopic dermatitis (eczema).
This disorder can have scores of causes and can surface in various forms, starting out as an
itchy rash and spreading to increase with redness and swelling. This skin disorder is not
life-threatening or contagious, however, it can cause one to feel really uncomfortable and
self-conscious.

Athletes Foot
Athlete's foot or tinea pedis is a fungal infection of the skin that causes scaling, flaking and
itching of various areas of the skin. This condition is transmitted mostly in moist areas where
people walk barefoot, for example bathhouses, showers, etc. This condition typically affects the
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feet, however, can spread to other areas such as the groin. By maintaining good hygiene, one
can prevent the occurrence of Athletes foot.
Besides the above mentioned integumentary system diseases, there are scores of integumentary system diseases such as acne, albinism, herpes,
blisters, squamous cell carcinoma, basil cell carcinoma, melanoma and other kinds or skin cancer that can affect people. Thus, damage to this
largest organ system can prove quite deleterious.
By Priya Johnson

SKIN DISEASES

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