Integumentary

System

JESSA MARIE M. CAPARAS, PTRP

 is composed of the skin, hair, oil and sweat glands, nails, and sensory
receptors
 helps maintain a constant body temperature, protects the body, and
provides sensory information about the surrounding environment.
 Functions:
 Regulates body temperature
 Stores blood
 Protects body from external environment
 Detects cutaneous sensations
 Excretes and absorbs substances
 Synthesizes vitamin D
Skin
 aka as cutaneous membrane
 covers the external surface of
the body and is the largest
organ of the body in weight
 covers about 2 square meters
(22 square feet) and weighs
4.5–5 kg (10–11 lb)
 has 2 main parts:
 Epidermis
 Dermis
 (Hypodermis/subcutaneous
layer)
Epidermis
 thinner portion of the skin; made up of
keratinized stratified squamous epithelial tissue;
avascular
 Layers: (from deep to superficial)
 Stratum basale or germinativum – single
row of cells attached to dermis; youngest
cells
 Stratum spinosum – spinyness is artifactual;
tonofilaments (bundles of protein) resist
tension
 Stratum granulosum – layers of flattened
keratinocytes producing keratin (hair and
nails made of it also)
 Stratum lucidum (only on palms and soles)
 Stratum corneum – horny layer (cells
dead; many layers; thick)
Dermis
 thicker portion of the skin;
composed of dense irregular
connective tissue containing
collagen and elastic fibers;
vascular
 can be divided into:
 Papillary region (thin; superficial)
 Reticular region (thick; deeper)
 Papillary Region  Reticular Region
 consists of areolar connective  consists of dense irregular
tissue with thin collagen and fine connective tissue with bundles of
elastic fibers thick collagen and some coarse
elastic fibers.
 contains dermal ridges that house
blood capillaries, corpuscles of  Spaces between fibers contain
touch, and free nerve endings. some adipose cells, hair follicles,
nerves, sebaceous glands, and
sudoriferous glands
Functions of the Skin:
 Thermoregulation
 Protection
 Synthesis of Vitamin D
 Blood Reservoir
 Cutaneous Sensations
 Excretion and Absorption
Thermoregulation
Protection
 Lipids acts as barrier for diffusion of water thus reducing water loss
 Oily sebum from the sebaceous glands keeps skin and hairs from
drying out and contains bactericidal chemicals
 The acidic pH of perspiration retards the growth of some microbes
 Melanin absorbs UV light and protects underlying structures from its
damaging effects
 Nails protect the ends of fingers and toes and can be used as form
of defense
 Presence of intraepidermal macrophages and macrophages in the
dermis that are immunological in nature
 Keratin protects underlying tissues from microbes, abrasion, heat,
and chemicals, and the tightly interlocked keratinocytes resist
invasion by microbes.
Synthesis of Vitamin D

Requires Enzymes in the Absorption of

activation of a liver and kidneys calcium from
precursor then modify the foods in the
molecule in the activated gastrointestinal
skin by ultraviolet molecule, finally tract into the
(UV) rays in producing blood then to the
sunlight calcitriol bones of the body

Other Function of Vit. D

• enhance phagocytic activity
• increase the production of antimicrobial substances in phagocytes
• regulate immune functions
• help reduce inflammation
 Blood Reservoir
• dermis houses an extensive network of blood vessels that carry
8–10% of the total blood flow in a resting adult

 Cutaneous Sensations
 Excretion
• elimination of substances from the body
• 400mL of water evaporates daily through the stratum corneum
• excretion of small amounts of salts, carbon dioxide, and two
organic molecules that result from the breakdown of proteins—
ammonia and urea

► Absorption
• passage of materials from the external environment into body
cells
• certain lipid-soluble materials do penetrate the skin.
• Includes fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K), certain drugs, and
the gases oxygen and carbon dioxide
Epidermal Wound
Healing
[Link] cells of the epidermis surrounding
the wound break contact with the
basement membrane

The cells then enlarge and migrate across

the wound. The cells appear to migrate as
a sheet until advancing cells from opposite
sides of the wound meet

Migration of the epidermal cells stops

completely when each is finally in contact
with other epidermal cells on all sides
through a process called contact inhibition

Epidermal growth factor stimulates basal

stem cells to divide and replace the ones
that have moved into the wound

The relocated basal epidermal cells divide

to build new strata, thus thickening the new
epidermis
Deep Wound
Healing
I. Inflammatory Phase
- Presence of clot
- a vascular and cellular response
that helps eliminate microbes

II. Migration Phase

- Clot → Scab
- epithelial cells and fibroblasts starts to
migrate to form granulation tissue

III. Proliferative Phase

- extensive growth of epithelial cells
beneath the scab, deposition by
fibroblasts of collagen fibers in random
patterns, and continued growth of
blood vessels

IV. Maturation Phase

- scab sloughs off once the epidermis has
been restored to normal thickness.
Collagen fibers become more organized,
fibroblasts decrease in number, and
blood vessels are restored to normal
Effects of Aging:
 Collagen fibers in the dermis begin to  Decrease in the number of functioning
decrease in number, stiffen, break apart, melanocytes, resulting in gray hair and
and disorganize into a shapeless, matted atypical skin pigmentation
tangle
 Hair loss increases with aging as hair
 Elastic fibers lose some of their elasticity, follicles stop producing hairs
thicken into clumps, and fray, an effect
that is greatly accelerated in the skin of  An increase in the size of some
smokers melanocytes produces pigmented
blotching (age spots)
 Fibroblasts, which produce both collagen
and elastic fibers, decrease in number  Walls of blood vessels in the dermis
become thicker and less permeable, and
 Intraepidermal macrophages dwindle in subcutaneous adipose tissue is lost
number and become less-efficient
phagocytes  Migration of cells from the basal layer to
the epidermal surface slows considerably
 Decreased size of sebaceous glands
leads to dry and broken skin that is more  Growth of nails and hair slows during the
susceptible to infection second and third decades of life (nails
may also be brittle)
 Production of sweat diminishes
Disorders of the Skin

 Skin Cancer
• Excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun or tanning beds
accounts for almost all cases of skin cancer
• Risk Factors:
• Skin type
• Sun exposure
• Family history
• Age
• Immunological status
3 Common Types
of Skin Cancer

Basal Cell Carcinoma

most common (account for
about 78% of all skin cancers)
arisefrom cells in the stratum
basale
rarely metastasize
► Squamous Cell Carcinoma
• account for about 20% of all
skin cancers
• arise from the stratum
spinosum
• have a variable tendency to
metastasize
 Malignant Melanoma
• account for about 2% of all
skin cancers
• arise from melanocytes
• metastasize rapidly and can
kill a person within months of
diagnosis
ABCDE for detecting Melanoma

 Asymmetric: normal moles are often round and symmetrical, whereas

one side of a cancerous mole is likely to look different from the other
side - not round or symmetrical.
Border: this is likely to be irregular rather than smooth - ragged, notched,
or blurred.
Color: melanomas tend not to be of one color but to contain uneven
shades and colors, including varying black, brown, and tan, and even
white or blue pigmentation.
Diameter: a change in the size of the mole, or a mole that is larger than
a normal mole (more than a quarter inch in diameter) can indicate skin
cancer.
Evolving: a change in a mole's appearance over a period of weeks or
months can be a sign of skin cancer.
Burns
 tissue damage caused by excessive heat, electricity, radioactivity,
or corrosive chemicals that denature (break down) proteins in the
skin
 destroy some of the skin’s important contributions to homeostasis—
protection against microbial invasion and dehydration, and
thermoregulation
END