Skin

• The skin forms the external covering of the body and is its largest
organ, constituting about 20% of its total mass.
• The total weight and surface area of skin in the adult is 3 to 5 kg and
1.5 to 2 m2 , respectively.
 Protection: it serves as a barrier between the internal tissues and the external environment that protects against physical, chemical, and biologic agents
(i.e., mechanical barrier, permeability barrier, ultraviolet barrier).

It participates in homeostasis by regulating body temperature and water loss. The skin forms a waterproof barrier, which prevents thedehydration. Evaporation of sweat
released onto the body surface by the eccrine glands as well as dilation of the capillary network and arteriovenous anastomoses (shunts) in the skin help to regulate body

Major functions of the skin: temperature.

Somatosensory function: sensory receptors in the skin convey sensory information about the external environment to the central nervous system where the sensations of
touch, pressure, pain, warmth, cold, vibration, etc. are generated.

Immunological function: the Langerhans cells and lymphocytes in the skin play roles in the cutaneous immune response.

It performs endocrine functions by secreting hormones, cytokines, and growth factors and converting precursor molecules into hormonally active molecules (vitamin D).

Excretion function: exocrine secretion through sweat and sebaceous glands.

Producing melanin (protecting the deeper layers from excessive UV radiation)

• The skin is of particular significance in a clinical physical examination.
• For example, the colour of the skin may indicate the existence of a pathologic
condition:
• a yellow colour indicates jaundice;
• a blue-gray colour may indicate cyanosis, reflecting a pathologic condition of
cardiovascular and respiratory function;
• a pale colour is indicative of anemia;

• lack of skin pigmentation suggests albinism, a genetic trait characterized

by lack of the enzyme tyrosinase, involved in the conversion of the amino acid
tyrosine to melanin.
• Many infectious and immune diseases produce characteristic skin changes
leading to a correct diagnosis. In addition, the skin has diseases peculiar to itself.
Integumentary System
• Two major components:
• Cutaneous membrane (skin)
• Epidermis - superficial
• Dermis – underlying connective tissue
• Accessory structures
• Hair, nails, exocrine glands
• Hypodermis (subcutaneous layer) – loose connective tissue under the
dermis
• Separates the integument from deeper tissues and organs
• Often not considered part of the integumentary system
 Accessory Structures
Cutaneous Membrane
Hair shaft
Epidermis
Pore of sweat
gland duct
Papillary layer
Dermis Touch receptor
Reticular layer Sebaceous gland
Arrector pili muscle

Sweat gland duct

Hair follicle
Pressure receptor
Hypodermis
Nerve fibers
Sweat gland

Artery
Cutaneous
Vein plexus
Fat
Epidermis
• The epidermis is derived from ectoderm.
• The epidermis is composed of stratified squamous keratinized
epithelium which have ectodermal origin and in which 5 distinct
layers can be identified.
• Beginning with the deepest layer, these are as
follow:
• • the stratum basale (germinativum) - consists of a single layer
of columnar or high cuboidal keratinocytes resting on a basement membrane.
It contains mitotically active cells with basophilic cytoplasm - the stem cells of
the epidermis. Basal cells exhibit extensive cell junctions; they are connected
to each other and to keratinocytes by desmosomes and to the underlying
basal lamina by hemidesmosomes. As new keratinocytes arise in this layer by
mitotic division, they move into the next layer.
• • the stratum spinosum
• • the stratum granulosum

• • the stratum lucidum

• • the stratum corneum

 Surface

Stratum
corneum

Stratum
lucidum

Stratum
granulosum

Stratum
spinosum
Stratum basale
Basement
membrane
Dermis
Thick skin LM x 210
Layers of epidermis

http://thealabublog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/
Epidermis-Large.jpg
Stratum Basale
• Contours of skin follow ridge patterns
• Ridge contours are genetically determined => unique to each
person and don’t change
• Fingerprints – ridge patterns of the fingers

www.crime-sce
ne-investigator.
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. net
• Beginning with the deepest layer, these are as follow:
• • the stratum basale (germinativum)
• • the stratum spinosum -thickest layer of the epidermis, called the
spinous layer or prickle cell layer because of the characteristic light
microscopic appearance of short processes extending from cell to
cell. Keratinocytes interdigitate with one another by forming
intercellular bridges and numerous desmosomes; prickle cells
have numerous tonofilaments and membrane-coating granules. As
the cells mature and move to the surface, they decrease in size
and become flattened in a plane parallel to the surface.
• • the stratum granulosum
• • the stratum lucidum
• • the stratum corneum
 Surface

Stratum
corneum

Stratum
lucidum

Stratum
granulosum

Stratum
spinosum
Stratum basale
Basement
membrane
Dermis
Thick skin LM x 210
Layers of epidermis

http://thealabublog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/
Epidermis-Large.jpg
• Beginning with the deepest layer, these are as follow:
• • the stratum basale (germinativum)
• • the stratum spinosum
• • the stratum granulosum these keratinocytes still retain
nuclei; cells contain large, coarse keratohyalin granules
and membrane-coating granules. These granules contain
cystine-rich and histidine-rich proteins, which are the
precursors of the protein filaggrin, which aggregates the
keratin filaments present within the cornified cells of the
stratum corneum.
• • the stratum lucidum
• • the stratum corneum
 Surface

Stratum
corneum

Stratum
lucidum

Stratum
granulosum

Stratum
spinosum
Stratum basale
Basement
membrane
Dermis
Thick skin LM x 210
Layers of epidermis

http://thealabublog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/
Epidermis-Large.jpg
• Beginning with the deepest layer, these are as
follow:
•• the stratum basale (germinativum)
• • the stratum spinosum
• • the stratum granulosum

• • the stratum lucidum lightly stained thin layer of

keratinocytes without nuclei and organelles; cells

contain densely packed keratin filaments and
eleidin.
•• the stratum corneum
 Surface

Stratum
corneum

Stratum
lucidum

Stratum
granulosum

Stratum
spinosum
Stratum basale
Basement
membrane
Dermis
Thick skin LM x 210
Layers of epidermis

http://thealabublog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/
Epidermis-Large.jpg
• Beginning with the deepest layer, these are
as follow:
• • the stratum basale (germinativum)
• • the stratum spinosum
• • the stratum granulosum

• • the stratum lucidum

•• the stratum corneum - is composed of 15-20 layers of keratinized

cells. Numerous layers of flattened keratinized cells - keratinocytes without nuclei
and organelles (squamous, or horny cells) largely filled with keratin filaments. The
thick plasma membrane of these cornified, keratinized cells is coated from the
outside, in the deeper portion of this layer, with an extracellular layer of lipids
that form the major constituent of the water barrier in the epidermis.
 Surface

Stratum
corneum

Stratum
lucidum

Stratum
granulosum

Stratum
spinosum
Stratum basale
Basement
membrane
Dermis
Thick skin LM x 210
Layers of epidermis

http://thealabublog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/
Epidermis-Large.jpg
• The keratinocytes in the basal layer contain numerous free
ribosomes, intermediate keratin filaments, Golgi apparatus,
mitochondria, and rough endoplasmic reticulum. The cytoplasm of
immature keratinocytes is basophilic because synthesis of keratins
occurs, which will later be assembled into keratin filaments. These
filaments are called tonofilaments. As the cells enter and are moved
through the stratum spinosum, the synthesis of keratin filaments
continues, and the filaments become grouped into bundles. These
bundles are called tonofibrils. The cytoplasm becomes eosinophilic.
In the upper part of the stratum spinosum, the free ribosomes within
the keratinocytes begin to synthesize keratohyalin granules that
become the distinctive feature of the cells in the stratum granulosum.
Keratohyalin granules contain the two major intermediate filament–
associated proteins, filaggrin and trichohyalin.
• As the number of granules increases, the contents of the granules are
released into the keratinocyte cytoplasm. Filaggrin and trichohyalin function
as promoters in the aggregation of keratin filaments into tonofibrils, thus
initiating the conversion of granular cells into cornified cells. This process is
called keratinization and occurs in 2 to 6 hours, the time it takes for the
cells to leave the stratum granulosum and enter the stratum corneum. The
keratin fibril formed in this process is called soft keratin in contrast to the
hard keratin of hair and nails. The transformation of a granular cell into a
keratinized cell also involves breakdown of the nucleus and other organelles
and thickening of the plasma membrane. This is accompanied by a change
in pH, which decreases from approximately neutral (pH 7.17) in the stratum
granulosum to acidic at the surface of the stratum corneum, ranging
between pH 4.5 and 6.0
• Cells are regularly exfoliated or desquamated from the surface of the
stratum corneum. Desquamation of surface keratinocytes from the
stratum corneum is regulated by proteolytic degradation of the cells’
desmosomes.
• In addition to the keratinocytes the epidermis also contains three
different cell types (nonkeratinocytes) - Langerhans cells,
melanocytes, and Merkel cells.
• Melanocytes originate from the neural crest, it cell bodies are located
in the stratum basale, but they have long, slender, finger-like
processes that extend into the stratum spinosum, where their tips are
surrounded by cytoplasmic extensions of keratinocytes. One
melanocyte establishes contact with about 36 keratinocytes, forming
an epidermal-melanin unit. Melanocytes contain oval-shaped
granules (except in individuals with red hair these granules are
spherical) containing the enzyme tyrosinase, known as melanosomes.
In these melanosomes, the tyrosinase converts tyrosine into the dark
pigment melanin. Melanocytes distribute melanin into keratinocytes.
The melanin acts to protect the keratinocytes from UV irradiation.
Figure 5-3 Melanocytes.

Melanocytes
in stratum
basale
Melanin
pigment
Basement
membrane

Melanocytes LM x 600

Melanosome

Melanin
pigment
Melanocyte

Basement
membrane
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.
Melanin and sunburn

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

thebestskinofyourlife.com
Melanin

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.

• Langerhans cells, antigen-presenting cells derived from the
monocytes of the bone marrow, are scattered throughout the stratum
spinosum; there may be 800 Langerhans cells per square millimeter.
The nuclei and cytoplasm are not unusual except for the presence of
cytoplasmic tennis racquet–shaped Birbeck granules whose function
is unknown. Similar to other antigen-presenting cells, Langerhans cells
phagocytose antigens, are involved in delayed type hypersensitivity
reactions (e.g., contact allergic dermatitis and other cell-mediated
immune responses in the skin) through the uptake of antigen in the
skin and its transport to the lymph nodes.
• Merkel cells. The origin of Merkel’s cells is unknown; they possess
antigenic markers of both epidermal and neural type. Cells located in
the stratum basale, especially in the oral mucosa, hair follicles, and
tips of the fingers. The combination of the neuron and epidermal cell,
called a Merkel’s corpuscle, is a sensitive mechanoreceptor
responsible for light touch.
Dermis
• Dermis derived from mesoderm;
is composed mostly of type I
collagen and elastic fibers
• subdivided into two regions -
papillary layer and
reticular layer.
 Papillary layer–
• loose connective tissue, interdigitates with epidermis.
• Type I and III collagen and elastic fibres; abundant capillary beds,
connective tissue cells, and mechanoreceptors are located in this layer.
Forms the dermal papillae – finger-like connective tissue protrusions, that
project into the undersurface of the epidermis. The papillae are
complemented by epidermal ridges that project into the dermis. At sites
where increased mechanical stress is placed on the skin, the epidermal
ridges are much deeper (the epithelium is thicker), and the dermal
papillae are much longer and more closely spaced, creating a more
extensive interface between the dermis and epidermis. Therefore, the
number of cells of the epidermal basal layer increases as well as blood
supply. These patterns (papilla and ridges)are the basis of the science of
dermatoglyphics.
Reticular layer -
• a dense, irregular connective tissue; contains type I collagen, thick
elastic fibres, and connective tissue cells; sweat glands and their
ducts, hair follicles and arrector pili muscles, and sebaceous glands
and mechanoreceptors (e.g., Pacinian corpuscles). The collagen and
elastic fibres form regular lines of tension, called Langer’s lines.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF THICK AND
THIN SKIN
Skin type Examples Thickness Strata Appendages Dermis
(μm) (layers)
Palms, soles 400– 600 All five strata Without hair Dermal ridges
follicles, arrector pili and papillae are
Thick muscles, and most prominent
sebaceous glands

Thin Remainder of the 75–150 Without distinct With hair follicles, Dermal papillae
body stratum lucidum arrector pili are expressed
and granulosum muscles, and weakly
sebaceous and
sweat glands
Blood supply to the skin
• Although the epidermis is avascular, the skin still receives an extensive
vascular supply through the dermal blood vessels, which can hold
about 4 5% of the body’s total blood volume.
Arterial plexuses.
• One of the 2 arterial plexuses that provide the skin’s blood supply lies
at the border between the papillary and reticular layers of the dermis
The other lies at the border between the dermis and hypodermis.
Both give rise to arterioles that feed the papillary capillaries.
Papillary capillaries.
• The dermal papillae, which surround the epidermal ridges, contain a
rich capillary network that provides oxygen and nutrients to the
avascular epidermis.
Venous Plexuses.
• The capillary bed in each papilla drains, by a single venue, into one of
3 venous plexuses. Two of these lie in the same position as the
arterial plexuses, the other lies between them in the middle of the
reticular dermis
Arteriovenous anastomoses
(Shunts).
• Within the dermal plexuses there are many anastomoses-direct
connections-between the arteries and veins. Postganglionic
autonomic fibers control the opening and closing of these shunts,
helping to control blood pressure and body temperature by regulating
the amount of blood in the papillary capillaries. When the shunts are
closed, more blood flows through the papillary capillaries, when
open, they direct blood away from the capillaries, increasing blood
volume in the larger vessels and thus increasing the blood pressure.
Opening the shunts also reduces the loss of body heat through the
skin.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SWEAT
GLANDS
Merocrine sweat glands Apocrine sweat glands
are distributed over the entire body surface except for are limited to the axilla, areola, and nipple of the
the lips and part of the external genitalia. mammary gland, skin around the anus, and the
external genitalia
blind-ended, simple, coiled tubular structure Tubular glands. They are sometimes branched
consist of two segments: consist of two segments:
(1) a secretory segment that contains of 3 types of (1) a secretory segment -only 1 cell type is present,
cells: and the cytoplasm of the cell is eosinophilic
clear cells- produce the watery component of sweat Myoepithelial cells lie between the secretory cells,
dark cells- proteinaceous secretion the cytoplasm contains numerous contractile
myoepithelial cells- lie between the secretory cells, filaments (actin)
the cytoplasm contains numerous contractile (2) duct portion of apocrine glands is lined by
filaments (actin) - contractile cells stratified cuboidal epithelium and lacks myoepithelial
(2)duct segment that leads to the epidermal surface is cells
lined by stratified cuboidal epithelium and lacks
myoepithelial cells
Sweat: hypotonic watery solution is low in protein Sweat: contains protein, carbohydrate, ammonia,
and contains varying amounts of sodium chloride, lipid, and certain organic compounds that may colour
urea, uric acid, and ammonia the secretion, pheromones

functioning at birth become functional at puberty; as with axillary and

pubic hair, their development depends on sex
hormones

secreted to the skin surface secretion of the gland to enter the hair follicle,
typically at a level just above the entry of the
sebaceous duct. From here, the secretion makes its
way to the surface

Temperature regulation are not involved in thermoregulation, reaction to

stress

are innervated by the sympathetic portion of the are innervated by the sympathetic division of the
autonomic nervous system by cholinergic transmitters autonomic nervous system by adrenergic transmitters
Nails
• Nail Complex Structure. The nail plate (or nail) consists of 2 parts the
nail body (the visible part of the nail) and the nail root – the part
hidden in the nail groove. The nail and its supporting structure are
surrounded by papillary dermis The nail matrix is a thickened region
of epidermis containing proliferating cells in the layer that directly
contacts the dermis, and keratinizing cells between this basal layer
and the nail plate The nail matrix surrounds the root and extends
beyond the nail groove The nail bed lies beneath the nail body, distal
to the nail matrix It consists of only the deeper epidermal strata, for
which the nail serves as a stratum corneum.
• The eponychium (or cuticle) is a thick keratinized layer extending from
the upper surface of the nail groove over the most proximal part of
the nail body The hyponychium is a local thickening of the stratum
corneum underlying the free (distal) end of the tail The lunula is the
whitish, opaque, crescent-shaped region on the proximal nail body,
adjacent to the nail groove. Its distal border corresponds roughly to
the underlying nail matrix.
• Thank you for your attention!!!