INTEGUMENTARY
SYSTEM
WHAT IS THE
INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM?
❖The integument is an alternative name for skin.
❖The skin is the exterior covering of the body.
❖The Integumentary System consists of the skin and its
accessory structures, including the hair, nails,
sebaceous glands, and sweat glands.
❖It weighs more than 6 pounds in the average adult, and
covers more than 3,000 square inches.
❖ It is the largest organ of the body.
❖It is supplied with blood vessels and nerves.
STRUCTURE
❖The Integument is the largest system of the body
❖16% of body weight,
❖1.5 to 2m squared in area,
❖The integument is made up of two parts
❖1. Cutaneous membrane
❖Epidermis– Superficial epithelium.
❖Dermis – underlying CT with blood supply
❖2. Accessory structures
❖a. Hair
❖b. Nails
❖c. Exocrine Glands
ANATOMY OF THE SKIN
❖Upper layer of skin is called EPIDERMIS
EPI- means on top of
DERMIS means skin
❖The lower layer of skin is called the DERMIS.
STRUCTURE
Three Layers of the Skin
Epidermis or stratified squamous epithelium Stratum corneum
Basal layer includes
melanocytes
Dermis or corium Nerves, vessels, glands, hair follicles
Subcutaneous Connective tissue (mostly lipocytes)
THE EPIDERMIS
•Outermost skin layer
•Is multilayered/ Consists of several sublayers
•Contains a superficial layer of dead skin cells
called STRATUM CORNEUM.
•The stratum corneum is composed of cells
called KERATIN.
•Is AVASCULAR (no blood vessels)
•Has no nerve tissue (can’t feel pain)
THE DERMIS
❖Also called the corium
❖Has two distinct layers:
1. Papillary Layer (more superficial)
2. Reticular Layer (deeper)
❖Accessory organs begin the dermis.
❖Some of the accessory organs end or cross into
the epidermis.
❖The dermis contains blood vessels and nerve
tissue.
❖Holds many capillaries, lymph cells, nerve
endings, sebaceous and sweat glands and hair
follicles
SUBCUTANEOUS FAT AND SUPERFICIAL
FASCIA
❖ Also called the hypodermis
❖ Found between the dermal layer and the inner
organs
❖ Consists of adipose or fatty tissue (a form of
connective tissue) and some fibrous tissue
❖ It contains the larger blood vessels of the skin.
❖ Deep to the sub Q layer is the fascial layer
that covers the muscles beneath.
HYPODERMIS
FUNCTIONS
Protection
❖The skin acts as a barrier, slowing dehydration. It also prevents the entry of diseases and
infections and provides a waterproof covering, protecting the body.
Thermoregulation
❖The skin helps to regulate body temperature. If we are too warm, hot and cold receptors in
our body, let the brain know and we start sweating. This liquid on our skin evaporates,
cooling us down. If we are too cold, we shiver. This mini muscle contraction requires
energy. When energy is made, heat is also generated thus warming us.
Sensation
❖The skin allows sensation to be detected. The sensory receptors detect pain, pressure, and hot
and cold.
Manufactures Vitamin D
❖When the skin is exposed to the sun, it makes Vitamin D which helps keep bones and teeth
strong.
Produces hair and oil called sebum.
❖The sebaceous glands in the skin produce sebum, an oil which lubricates the hair and skin.
MELANIN AND SKIN COLOUR
❖ Melanin is the pigment produced in the skin which gives skin its colour and helps
protect us from the sun.
❖ It can colour the skin brown, black or yellow depending on racial origin.
❖ The cells make extra melanin if you go out in the sun, to protect you from UV rays
and results in tanning.
❖ The colour of the skin is also affected by skin thickness and blood supply.
❖ Abnormally pale skin may be as a result of anaemia, liver malfunction causes
yellowish colour and rashes often show the presence of diseases such as chickenpox
and measles.
STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION - HAIR
❖ Hair is found on every part of the body except the palms of the hand and soles of
the feet.
❖ Hair grows out of the epidermis to cover parts of the body.
❖ The shaft is what we see and the root lies below the surface of the skin.
❖ Protect the body as it prevents dust and foreign particles from
entering the nose and ears.
❖ Eyebrows prevent sweat from dripping into the eyes.
❖ Hair color is determined by the presence of melanin.
❖ Baldness or alopecia may result from heredity, disease, injury,
or chemotherapy.
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STRUCTURE
NAILS
Nails AND FUNCTION - NAIL
❖ Nails are plates made of hard keratin that cover the dorsal
surface of the fingers and toes
❖ At the base of most nails a lunula or whitish half-moon is
an area where keratin and other cells have mixed with air.
❖ The cuticle is a narrow band of epidermis that surrounds
the base or bottom of nails.
❖ Fingernails and toenails grow about 1 millimeter per
week.
❖ If damaged or removed they can regenerate.
❖ Fingernails take 5mths and toenails about 8mths to grow.
STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION -
GLANDS
❖Sebaceous glands are classified as holocrine glands are located throughout the skin except in the
palms of the hands and soles of the feet.
❖Sebum is an oily substance composed of fat (lipids) and the debris of dead fat-producing cells.
❖Sudoriferous glands, also known as sweat glands, secrete outward toward the surface of the body
(exocrine) and are located almost everywhere on the body.
❖Sweat glands are located deep within the skin and primarily regulate temperature.
❖The excretion of sweat is called diaphoresis.
❖The two main types of sweat glands are eccrine sweat glands and
apocrine sweat glands.
❖Eccrine sweat glands are smaller sweat glands. They are coiled
tubular glands that discharge their secretions directly onto the
surface of the skin.
❖Apocrine sweat glands are coiled tubular glands that discharge
in the canals of hair follicles. The sweat produced may be acted
upon by bacteria, causing a noticeable odor.
DIAGRAM OF THE SKIN
❖Epidermis – a layer of dead cells that
act as a waterproof coat and germproof
barrier
❖Sweat glands – excretes sweat and help
remove heat
❖Blood capillaries – supplies food and
oxygen to the skin
❖Hair shaft– can trap a layer of air
❖Hair follicle – produces new hair cells
❖Sebaceous gland – produces sebum, an
oil which lubricates the hair and skin.
❖Nerve endings – allow the skin to
sense temperature changes, pressure,
pain and touch.
❖Subcutaneous fat – helps keep the
body warm
