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Skin or integument is the bodys largest organ. In adults, it covers an area of 1.5 to 2.0
m2 and accounts for about 15% of the body weight. It consists of two layers:
(1) A stratified squamous epithelium (multiple flat cells layer) called the epidermis
(2) A deeper connective tissue layer called the dermis.
Below the skin is another connective tissue layer, the hypodermis. Most of the skin is 1 to
2 mm thick. Skin range from less than 0.5 mm on the eyelids to 6 mm between the shoulder
blades. This difference is due mainly to variation in the thickness of the dermis. However, skin is
classified as thick or thin skin based on the relative thickness of the epidermis alone, especially
the surface layer of dead cells called the stratum corneum. Thick skin covers the palms, soles,
and corresponding surfaces of the fingers and toes. It has an epidermis that is 400 to 600 m
thick, due to a very thick, tough stratum corneum. Thick skin has sweat glands but no hair
follicles or sebaceous (oil) glands. The rest of the body is covered with thin skin, which has an
epidermis 75 to 150 m thick, with a thin stratum corneum. It possesses hair follicles, sebaceous
glands, and sweat glands.

The Epidermis
The epidermis is a keratinized stratified squamous (flattened) epithelium.

Fig: stratified squamous (flattened) epithelium

That is, its surface consists of dead cells packed with the tough protein keratin (fibrous
structural proteins). Like other epithelia, the epidermis lacks blood vessels and depends on the
diffusion of nutrients from the underlying connective tissue. It has sparse nerve endings for touch
and pain, but most sensations of the skin are due to nerve endings in the dermis. The epidermis
usually consists of four zones (five in thick skin), described here in order from deep to
superficial.

1. Stratum Basale
The stratum basale (bah-SAY-lee) consists of a single layer of cuboidal to low columnar
cells resting on the basement membrane of the epithelium. There are three types of cells in this
layer:
i.

Keratinocytes (keh-RAT-ih-no-sites) are the majority of cells. They are named for their
role in synthesizing the keratin of the skin. Keratinocytes of the stratum basale undergo
mitosis and produce new epidermal cells to replace the dead ones that exfoliate (flake off)
from the surface.

ii.

Melanocytes (MEL-an-o-sites) synthesize the pigment melanin. They have long

branching processes that spread among the basal keratinocytes and continually shed
melanin-containing fragments from their tips. The keratinocytes phagocytize these
fragments and accumulate melanin granules on the sunny side. People of all skin colors
have about equal numbers of melanocytes. Differences in color result from differences in
the rate of melanin synthesis and how clumped or spread out the melanin is in the
keratinocytes. In light skin, the melanin is less abundant and is relatively clumped near
the nucleus, imparting less color to the cells.

iii.

Tactile (Merkel) cells, relatively few in number, are receptors for the sense of touch. The
tactile cell and its dermal nerve fiber are collectively called a tactile (Merkel) disc.

2. Stratum Spinosum
The stratum spinosum (spy-NO-sum) consists of several layers of keratinocytes. The
deepest cells undergo mitosis and contribute to the replacement of epidermal cells that exfoliate
from the surface. As they are pushed farther upward, however, they cease dividing. Instead, they
produce more and more keratin filaments, which cause the cells to flatten.

Fig: keratin filaments inside a cell

When skin is histologically fixed, keratinocytes shrink and pull away from each other but
remain attached to their neighbors. These create Bridge like extensions where one keratinocyte
reaches out to another across the gapa little like two people holding hands while standing
farther apart. These bridges give the cells the spiny appearance for which the stratum spinosum is
named.
The stratum spinosum and stratum granulosum also contain dendritic (Langerhans) cells.
These are macrophages that arise in the bone marrow but migrate to the stratified squamous
epithelia of the epidermis, oral cavity, esophagus, and vagina. The epidermis has as many as 800
dendritic cells per square millimeter. They help to protect the body against pathogens by
capturing foreign matter and presenting it to the immune system for a response.

3. Stratum Granulosum
The stratum granulosum consists of two to five layers of flat keratinocytesmore in thick
skin than in thin skin. These keratinocytes contain coarse, dark-staining keratohyalin granules
that give this layer its name. These granules consist of a protein. Keratinocytes in the stratum
spinosum and stratum granulosum also produce lipid-filled membrane-coating vesicles. Here in
the stratum granulosum, these vesicles undergo exocytosis and release a glycolipid that spreads
out over the keratinocyte membranes and waterproofs the skin. The glycolipid also constitutes a
barrier between the surface cells of the skin and the deeper layers.

4. Stratum Lucidum
The stratum lucidum (LOO-sih-dum) is a thin translucent zone superficial to the stratum
granulosum, seen only in thick skin. Here, the keratinocytes are densely packed with eleidin (eeLEE-ih-din), an intermediate stage in the production of keratin. The cells have no nuclei or other
organelles.

5. Stratum Corneum
The stratum corneum consists of up to 30 layers of dead, scaly, keratinized cells. Those at
the surface flake off (exfoliate) as tiny scales called dander. Dandruff is composed of clumps of
dander stuck together by oil from the scalp.

The Dermis
The dermis ranges from 0.2 mm thick in the eyelids to about 4 mm thick in the palms
and soles. It is composed mainly of collagen but also contains
Elastic and reticular fibers (Resembling a net in form)
The usual cells of fibrous connective tissue
Blood vessels
Sweat glands
Sebaceous glands
Hair follicles
Nail roots
Sensory nerve endings
Muscular tissue.
The boundary between the epidermis and dermis is histologically distinct and usually
wavy. The upward waves are fingerlike extensions of the dermis called dermal papillae and the
downward waves are extensions of the epidermis. In highly sensitive areas such as the lips and
genitals, tall dermal papillae allow nerve fibers and blood capillaries to reach close to the skin
surface.

Glands of Skin (Sweat, Sebaceous)

Sweat Glands
Sweat glands, or sudoriferous (soo-dor-IF-er-us) glands, are of two kinds:
1. Merocrine
2. Apocrine.

1. Merocrine (eccrine) sweat glands

The most numerous glands of the skin produce watery perspiration that serves primarily
to cool the body.

Location and Description

There are 3 to 4 million merocrine sweat glands in the adult skin, with a total weight
about equal to that of a kidney. They are especially abundant on the palms, soles, and forehead,
but they are widely distributed over the rest of the body as well.

Structure
Each is a simple tubular gland with a twisted coil in the dermis or hypodermis and an
undulating (wavy/rolling) or coiled duct leading to a sweat pore on the skin surface. This duct is
lined by a stratified cuboidal epithelium in the dermis and by keratinocytes in the epidermis.

Sweat
Sweat begins as a protein-free filtrate of the blood plasma produced by the deep secretory
portion of the gland. Most sodium chloride is reabsorbed from this filtrate as the secretion passes
through the duct. Potassium ions, urea, lactic acid, ammonia, and some sodium chloride remain
in the sweat. Some drugs are also excreted in the perspiration. On average, sweat is 99% water
and has a pH ranging from 4 to 6.

Each day, the sweat glands secrete about 500 mL of insensible perspiration, which does
not produce noticeable wetness of the skin. Under conditions of exercise or heat, however, a
person may lose as much as a liter of perspiration each hour. In fact, so much fluid can be lost
from the bloodstream by sweating as to cause circulatory shock. Sweating with visible wetness
of the skin is called diaphoresis (DY-uh-foe-REE-sis).

2. Apocrine sweat glands

Location and Description
Apocrine sweat glands occur in the groin (the thigh/ is the area between the pelvis and
the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb), anal region, axilla (armpit, underarm), and
areola (pigmented area on the human breast around the nipple), and in mature males the beard
area (hair on the face).
Their ducts lead into nearby hair follicles rather than opening directly onto the skin
surface. They produce their secretion in the same way that merocrine glands do by exocytosis.

Structure
The secretory part of an apocrine gland, however, has a much larger lumen than that of a
merocrine gland, so these glands have continued to be referred to as apocrine glands to
distinguish them functionally and histologically from the merocrine type.

Sweat
Apocrine sweat is thicker and milkier than merocrine sweat because it has more fatty
acids in it. Apocrine sweat does not have a disagreeable odor, and indeed it is considered
attractive or arousing in some cultures. Clothing, however, traps stale sweat long enough for
bacteria to degrade the secretion and release free fatty acids with a rancid odor. Disagreeable
body odor is called bromhidrosis. It occasionally indicates a metabolic disorder, but more often it
reflects poor hygiene.

Special charactristics
Apocrine sweat glands are scent glands that respond especially to stress and sexual
stimulation. They do not develop until puberty, and they apparently correspond to the scent
glands that develop in other mammals on attainment of sexual maturity. In women, they enlarge
and shrink in phase with the menstrual cycle.
In humans, apocrine glands are found mainly in the regions covered by the pubic hair,
axillary hair, and beard. This suggests that like other mammalian scent glands, they serve to
produce pheromones, chemicals that influence the physiology or behavior of other members of
the species. The hair serves to retain the aromatic secretion and regulate its rate of evaporation
from the skin.

Sebaceous Glands
Sebaceous (see-BAY-shus) glands produce an oily secretion called sebum (SEE-bum).
They are flask shaped, with short ducts that usually open into a hair follicle, although some of
them open directly onto the skin surface. Their secretion consists of broken down cells that are

replaced by mitosis at the base of the gland. Sebum keeps the skin and hair from becoming dry,
brittle, and cracked. The sheen of well-brushed hair is due to sebum distributed by the hairbrush.
Ironically, we go to great lengths to wash sebum from the skin, only to replace it with various
skin creams and hand lotions made of little more than lanolin, which is sheep sebum.

Structure of the Hair

A hair is divisible into three zones along its length:
(1) The bulb, a swelling at the base where the hair originates in the dermis;
(2) The root, which is the remainder of the hair within the follicle
(3) The shaft, which is the portion above the skin surface.

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Except near the bulb, all the tissue is dead. A bit of vascular connective tissue called the
papilla grows into the bulb and provides the hair with its sole source of nutrition. Although
ingested substances can become incorporated into hair, nothing you apply externally to your hair
can nourish it.
In cross section, a hair reveals three layers:
(1) The medulla, a core of loosely arranged cells and air spaces;
(2) The cortex, composed of densely packed keratinized cells
(3) The cuticle, a single layer of scaly cells that overlap each other like roof shingles, with their
free edges directed upward.
Cells lining the follicle are like shingles facing in the opposite direction. They interlock
with the scales of the hair cuticle and resist pulling on the hair. When a hair is pulled out, this
layer of follicle cells comes with it.
The texture of hair is related to differences in crosssectional shape
Straight hair is round
Wavy hair is oval
Kinky (twisted) hair is relatively flat.

Hair color is due to pigment granules in the cells of the cortex.

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Brown and black hair are colored by a form of melanin called eumelanin.
Blond (golden) hair has a scanty (low) amount of eumelanin but a moderate amount of
sulfur-containing pigments called pheomelanins.
Red hair has a slight amount of eumelanin but an abundance of pheomelanins.
White hair results from a lack of pigments in the cortex and a presence of air in the
medulla.

Functions of Hair
Body hair undoubtedly served to keep our ancestors warm, but in modern humans it
is too scanty for this purpose.
Stimulation of the hair receptors, however, alerts us to parasites crawling on the skin,
such as lice and fleas.
The scalp is normally the only place where the hair is thick enough to retain heat.
Heat loss from a bald scalp can be substantial and quite uncomfortable. The brain
receives a rich supply of warm blood, and most of the scalp lacks an insulating fat
layer. Heat is easily conducted through the bone of the skull and lost to the
surrounding air. In addition, without hair there is nothing to break the wind and stop it
from carrying away heat.
Hair also protects the scalp from sunburn, since the scalp is otherwise most directly
exposed to the suns rays. These may be the reasons humans have retained hair on
their heads while losing most of it from the rest of the body.
Tufts and patches of hair, sometimes with contrasting colors, are important among
mammals in advertising species, age, sex, and individual identity. For the less
groomed members of the human species, scalp hair may play a similar role. The
indefinitely growing hair of a mans scalp and beard, for example, could provide a
striking contrast to a face that is otherwise almost hairless.
The beard and pubic and axillary hair signify sexual maturity and aid in the
transmission of sexual scents.
Hairs at the nostrils and ear canals and prevent foreign particles from entering easily.
The eyebrows are often presumed to keep sweat or debris out of the eyes, but this
seems a minimal role. It is more possible that they function mainly to enhance facial

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expression. Movements of the eyebrows are an important means of nonverbal

communication in humans of all cultures.

Nails
Fingernails and toenails are clear, hard derivatives of the stratum corneum. They are
composed of very thin, dead, scale like cells, densely packed together and filled with parallel
fibers of hard keratin.
Fingernails grow at a rate of about 1 mm per week and toenails somewhat more slowly.
New cells are added to the nail plate by mitosis in the nail matrix at its proximal end. Contrary to
some advertising claims, adding gelatin to the diet has no effect on the growth or hardness of the
nails.
The most important of these are
The nail matrix, a growth zone concealed beneath the skin at the proximal edge of the
nail
The nail plate, which is the visible portion covering the fingertip.

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The nail groove and the space beneath the free edge accumulate dirt and bacteria and require
special attention when scrubbing for duty in an operating room or nursery. The appearance of the
nails can be valuable to medical diagnosis. An iron deficiency, for example, may cause the nails
to become flat or concave (spoonlike) rather than convex