INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM
The integumentary system is composed of the skin, hair, oil and sweat
glands, nails, and sensory receptors. The integumentary system helps
maintain a constant body temperature, protects the body, and provides
sensory information about the surrounding environment.
SKIN
• The skin, also known as the
cutaneous membrane, covers
the external surface of the body
and is the largest organ of the
body in weight.
• In adults, the skin covers an
area of about 2 square meters
(22 square feet) and weighs
4.5–5 kg, about 7% of total body
weight.
• It ranges in thickness from 0.5
mm on the eyelids to 4.0 mm on
the heels.
• Over most of the body it is 1–2
mm thick.
CONTI…
• The skin consists of two
main parts.
i. The superficial,
thinner portion,
which is composed of
epithelial tissue, is the DERMIS
epidermis.
ii. The deeper, thicker
connective tissue
portion is the dermis.
• While the epidermis is
avascular, the dermis is
vascular.
EPIDERMIS
The epidermis is composed of keratinized stratified squamous
epithelium.
It contains four principal types of cells:
i. Keratinocytes
ii. Melanocytes
iii. Intra-epidermal macrophages
iv. Tactile epithelial cells
KERATINOCYTES
• About 90% of epidermal cells are keratinocytes which are arranged in
four or five layers and produce the protein keratin.
• keratin is a tough, fibrous protein that helps protect the skin and
underlying tissues from abrasions, heat, microbes, and chemicals.
• Keratinocytes also produce lamellar granules, which release a water-
repellent sealant that decreases water entry and loss and inhibits the
entry of foreign materials.
MELANOCYTES
• About 8% of the epidermal cells are melanocytes, which develop from the
ectoderm of a developing embryo and produce the pigment melanin.
• Melanin is a yellow-red or brown-black pigment that contributes to skin color
and absorbs damaging ultraviolet (UV) light.
INTRAEPIDERMAL MACROPHAGES
• Intraepidermal macrophages or Langerhans cells arise from red bone
marrow and migrate to the epidermis, where they constitute a small
fraction of the epidermal cells.
• They participate in immune responses against microbes that invade
the skin.
• Their role in the immune response is to help other cells of the
immune system recognize an invading microbe and destroy it.
TACTILE EPITHELIAL CELLS
• Tactile epithelial cells, or Merkel cells, are the least numerous of the
epidermal cells.
• They are located in the deepest layer of the epidermis, where they
contact the flattened process of a sensory neuron (nerve cell), a
structure called a tactile disc or Merkel disc.
• Tactile epithelial cells and their associated tactile discs detect touch
sensations.
LAYERS OF EPIDERMIS
Stratum Description
Deepest layer, composed of single row of cuboidal or columnar keratinocytes that contain scattered
keratin intermediate filaments; stem cells undergo cell division to produce new keratinocytes;
Basale melanocytes and tactile epithelial cells associated with tactile discs are scattered among
keratinocytes.
Eight to ten rows of many-sided keratinocytes with bundles of keratin intermediate filaments;
contains melanocytes and intraepidermal macrophages.
Spinosum
Three to five rows of flattened keratinocytes, in which organelles are beginning to degenerate; cells
contain the protein keratohyalin and lamellar granules (release lipid-rich, water-repellent secretion).
Granulosum
Present only in skin of fingertips, palms, and soles; consists of four to six rows of clear, flat, dead
keratinocytes with large amounts of keratin.
Lucidum
Few to fifty or more rows of dead, flat keratinocytes that contain mostly keratin.
Corneum
LAYERS OF
EPIDERMIS
DERMIS
• The second, deeper part of the skin, the dermis, is composed of dense
irregular connective tissue containing collagen and elastic fibers.
• It is much thicker than the epidermis, and this thickness varies from
region to region in the body, reaching its greatest thickness on the
palms and soles.
• The few cells present in the dermis include fibroblasts, with some
macrophages, and a few adipocytes near its boundary with the
subcutaneous layer. Blood vessels, nerves, glands, and hair follicles
are embedded in the dermal layer.
• Based on its tissue structure, the dermis can be divided into a thin
superficial papillary region and a thick deeper reticular region.
CONTI..
Papillary region
• Superficial portion of dermis; consists of areolar connective tissue
with thin collagen and fine elastic fibers; contains dermal ridges that
house blood capillaries, corpuscles of touch, and free nerve endings.
Reticular region
• Deeper portion of dermis; consists of dense irregular connective
tissue with bundles of thick collagen and elastic fibers. Spaces
between fibers contain some adipose cells, hair follicles, nerves and
sebaceous glands.
GLANDS OF SKIN
