The Integumentary System

The Integumentary System

 Integument is skin
 Skin and its appendages make up the
integumentary system
 A fatty layer (hypodermis) lies deep to it
 Two distinct regions
 Epidermis
 Dermis
Functions of skin

 Protection
 Cushions and insulates and is waterproof
 Protects from chemicals, heat, cold, bacteria
 Screens UV

 Synthesizes vitamin D (a-tocopherol) Regulates

body heat
 Prevents unnecessary water loss
 Sensory reception (nerve endings)
Function of frog’s skin
 It is important that each frog maintain a proper level of
moisture in their skin in order to breathe. Without this
level of moisture, the frog can suffocate and perish. The
frog uses its skin as well as its lungs and mouth lining in
order to breathe.
 When the frog is underwater, it uses its skin only to
breathe by allowing gasses to permeate the body as well
as leave it. When out of the water, the frog uses mucus
glands to dissolve oxygen that is already present in the
air and then to absorb it.
 Frogs also need to be able to breathe whenever they are
hibernating and breathing through their skin is the only
 The frog also uses its skin to drink
because frogs do not drink water or other
liquids through their mouths. The frog has
a patch on its stomach and part of its
thighs where it can absorb water. These
areas are commonly referred to as the
"drinking patch areas” or also known as
seat pouch.
Epidermis
 Keratinized stratified squamous epithelium
 Four types of cells
 Keratinocytes – deepest, produce keratin (tough fibrous protein)
 Melanocytes - make dark skin pigment melanin
 Merkel cells – associated with sensory nerve endings
 Langerhans cells – macrophage-like dendritic cells
 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)

(see figure on next slide)

Epithelium: layers (on left) and cell types (on right)
Frog’s Skin
The amphibian epidermis has five to seven
layers of cells formed from a basal stratum
germinativum. At the skin surface, in
contact with the external environment, the
cells are keratinized to form a stratum
corneum, which is best developed in
amphibians that spend most of their time on
land. The cells of this horny layer are not
continuously shed but are periodically
molted in sheets.
The dermis is two-layered, having an outer and
looser stratum spongiosum and an inner
stratum compactum. Although some amphibians
have external gills or internal lungs, for many the
skin is a vital respiratory organ, and the dermis is
richly supplied with blood vessels and lymph
spaces. Chromatophores are located just below
the junction of the dermis with the epidermis. The
numerous mucous and poison glands originate
from nests of epidermal cells that grow down into
the dermis.
Remember…
 Four basic types of tissue

Epithelium – epidermis just discussed

Connective tissue - dermis
Muscle tissue
Nervous tissue
Dermis
 Strong, flexible connective tissue: your “hide”
 Cells: fibroblasts, macrophages, mast cells,
WBCs
 Fiber types: collagen, elastic, reticular
 Rich supply of nerves and vessels
 Critical role in temperature regulation (the
vessels)
 Two layers (see next slides)
 Papillary – areolar connective tissue; includes dermal
papillae
 Reticular – “reticulum” (network) of collagen and
reticular fibers
*Dermis layers *Dermal papillae

*
Epidermis and dermis of (a) thick skin and (b) thin skin
(which one makes the difference?)
Fingerprints, palmprints, footprints
 Dermal papillae lie atop dermal ridges
 Elevate the overlying epidermis into epidermal ridges
 Are “sweat films” because of sweat pores
 Genetically determined

Flexion creases The dermis is the receptive

site for the pigment of tattoos
 Deep dermis, from continual folding

Fibers
 Collagen: strength and resilience
 Elastic fibers: stretch-recoil
 Striae: stretch marks
 Tension lines (or lines of cleavage)
 The direction the bundles
of fibers are directed
Receptors
Exteroceptors provide information about the
external environment, like touch, pressure,
temperature, light, sound, taste, smell etc.
Sometimes receptors sensing light, sound
and smell, which provide information about
the distant environment
Proprioceptors provide information about the
position and posture of our body in space. They
sense stimuli from the muscles, tendons and the
joints as well from the vestibular apparatus.
Proprioceptors are sometimes further subdivided
into general proprioceptors present in the
locomotor system (muscle spindles, Golgi tendon
organ and Pacinian corpuscle of the joints; and the
special proprioceptors present in the head
(receptors of the vestibular apparatus)
Interoceptors or visceroceptors provide
information about the events in the viscera,
e.g., receptors sensing blood pressure,
plasma osmolarity, blood glucose
concentration or the degree of stretching of
the urinary bladder.
Types of Skin Receptors
Mechanoreceptors: These receptors
perceive sensations such as pressure,
vibrations, and texture. There are four
known types of mechanoreceptors whose
only function is to perceive indentions and
vibrations of the skin: Merkel's disks,
Meissner's corpuscles, Ruffini's corpuscles,
and Pacinian corpuscles.
Thermoreceptors: As their name suggests,
these receptors perceive sensations related
to the temperature of objects the skin feels.
They are found in the dermis layer of the
skin. There are two basic categories of
thermoreceptors: hot and cold receptors.
Pain receptors: The scientific term is
nocireceptor. "Noci-" in Latin means "injurious" or
"hurt" which is a good clue that these receptors
detect pain or stimuli that can or does cause
damage to the skin and other tissues of the body.
There are over three million pain receptors
throughout the body, found in skin, muscles,
bones, blood vessels, and some organs. They can
detect pain that is caused by mechanical stimuli
(cut or scrape), thermal stimuli (burn), or chemical
stimuli (poison from an insect sting).
Proprioceptors: In Latin, the word "proprius"
means "one's own" and is used in the name of
these receptors because they sense the position of
the different parts of the body in relation to each
other and the surrounding environment.
Proprioceptors are found in tendons, muscles, and
joint capsules. This location in the body allows
these special cells to detect changes in muscle
length and muscle tension. Without proprioceptors,
we would not be able to do fundamental things
such as feeding or clothing ourselves.
Hypodermis
 “Hypodermis” (Gk) = below the skin
 “Subcutaneous” (Latin) = below the skin
 Also called “superficial fascia”
“fascia” (Latin) =band; in anatomy: sheet of connective
tissue
 Fatty tissue which stores fat and anchors
skin (areolar tissue and adipose cells)
 Different patterns of accumulation
(male/female)
Skin color
 Three skin pigments
 Melanin:the most important
 Carotene: from carrots and yellow vegies
 Hemoglobin: the pink of light skin
 Melanin in granules passes from
melanocytes (same number in all races)
to keratinocytes in stratum basale
 Digested by lysosomes
 Variations in color
 Protection from UV light
Skin Derivatives
 Derived from epidermis but extend into
dermis
 Include
 Hair and hair follicles
 Sebaceous (oil) glands
 Sweat (sudoiferous) glands
 Nails
Nails
 Of hard keratin
 Corresponds to hooves and claws
 Grows from nail matrix
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 Accessory Organs of the Skin

A. Nails
1. Nails are protective coverings
over the ends of fingers and toes.
2. Nails consist of stratified squamous
epithelial cells overlying the nail bed,
with the lunula as the most actively
growing region of the nail root.
3. As new cells are produced, older
ones are pushed outward and
become keratinized.

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Hair and hair follicles: complex
Derived from epidermis and dermis
Everywhere but palms, soles, nipples, parts of genitalia

*“arrector pili” is smooth muscle

* Hair bulb:
epithelial cells
surrounding
papilla

Hair papilla
is connective
tissue________________
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B. Hair Follicles
1. Hair can be found in nearly all
regions of the skin.
2. Individual hairs develop from cells at the
base of the hair follicle, an invagination of the
lower epidermis that dips down into the
dermis.
3. As new cells are formed, old cells are
pushed outward and become keratinized, and
die forming the hair shaft.

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4. A bundle of smooth muscle cells, called

the arrector pili muscle, attaches to each
hair follicle. These muscles cause goose
bumps when cold or frightened.
5. Hair color is determined by genetics;
melanin from melanocytes is responsible
for most hair colors. Dark hair has
eumelanin while blonde and red hair have
pheomelanin.

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 Functions of hair
 Warmth – less in man than other mammals
 Sense light touch of the skin
 Protection - scalp
 Parts
 Root imbedded in skin
 Shaft projecting above skin surface
 Make up of hair – hard keratin
 Three concentric layers
 Medulla (core)
 Cortex (surrounds medulla)
 Cuticle (single layers, overlapping)
 Types of hair
 Vellus:fine, short hairs
 Intermediate hairs
 Terminal: longer, courser hair
 Hair growth: averages 2 mm/week
 Active: growing
 Resting phase then shed
 Hair loss
 Thinning – age related
 Male pattern baldness
 Hair color
 Amount of melanin for black or brown; distinct form of
melanin for red
 White: decreased melanin and air bubbles in the
medulla
 Genetically determined though influenced by
hormones and environment
Sebaceous (oil) glands
 Entire body except palms and soles
 Produce sebum by holocrine secretion
 Oils and lubricates
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C. Sebaceous Glands

1. Sebaceous glands
(holocrine glands)
are associated with
hair follicles and
secrete sebum that
waterproofs and
moisturizes the hair
shafts.

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 Sweat glands
 Entire skin surface
except nipples and
part of external
genitalia
 Prevent overheating
 500 cc to 12 l/day!
(is mostly water)
 Humans most
efficient (only
mammals have)
 Produced in
response to stress
as well as heat
 Types of sweat glands
 Eccrine or merocrine
 Most numerous
 True sweat: 99% water, some salts, traces of waste
 Open through pores
 Apocrine
 Axillary,
anal and genital areas only
 Ducts open into hair follices
 The organic molecules in it decompose with time - odor
 Modified apocrine glands
 Ceruminous– secrete earwax
 Mammary – secrete milk
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 Regulation of Body Temperature

A. Proper temperature regulation is vital to
maintaining metabolic reactions.
B. The skin plays a major role in temperature
regulation with the hypothalamus controlling it.
C. Active cells, such as those of the heart and
skeletal muscle, produce heat.

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D. Heat may be lost to the surroundings

from the skin through radiation.
E. The body responds to excessive heat
by dilation of dermal blood vessels and
sweating.
F. The body responds to excessive
cooling by constricting dermal blood
vessels, inactivating sweat glands, and
shivering.

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 Healing of Wounds and Burns

A. Inflammation, in which blood vessels
dilate and become more permeable,
causing tissues to become red and
swollen, is the body's normal response to
injury.
B. Superficial cuts are filled in by
reproducing epithelial cells.

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C. Deeper cuts are closed off by clots,

covered by scabs, and eventually filled in
by fibroblasts, making connective tissue.
Blood vessels extend into the area,
injured tissues are replaced, and the scab
falls off.
D. Large wounds leave scars and healing
may be accompanied by the formation of
granulations.

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Disorders of the integumentary system
 Burns
 Threat to life
 Catastrophic loss of body fluids
 Dehydration and fatal circulatory shock

 Infection

 Types
 First degree – epidermis: redness (e.g. sunburn)
 Second degree – epidermis and upper dermis: blister

 Third degree - full thickness

 Infections
 Skin cancer
Burns
First-degree
(epidermis only; redness)

Second-degree
(epidermis and dermis,
with blistering)

Third-degree
(full thickness, destroying
epidermis, dermis, often part
of hypodermis)
 Estimate by “rule of 9’s”
Critical burns

 Over 10% of the

body has third-
degree burns
 25 % of the body
has second-
degree burns
 Third-degree
burns on face,
hands, or feet
Tumors of the skin
 Benign, e.g. warts
 Cancer – associated with UV exposure
(also skin aging)
 Aktinickeratosis - premalignant
 Basal cell - cells of stratum basale
 Squamous cell - keratinocytes
 Melanoma – melanocytes: most dangerous;
recognition:
 A - Asymmetry
 B - Border irregularity

 C - Colors

 D - Diameter larger than 6 mm

 Skin Cancer

Sqaumous cell carcinoma

Basal cell carcinoma Melanoma