Integumentary System

Integumentary System

Introduction

Skin is known as “integument” in the clinical language. Being the largest organ of the body, skin holds vital functions, and he diseases associated with it therefore affects the quality of life. This assignment explains the anatomy and physiology of human skin and studies the skin disorder acne vulgaris in detail. The assignment also explains the affects of the disease on the skin and the treatment options available.

Discussion

Functions of Skin

The skin is the largest organ of the human body, forming the outermost covering and covering an area of around 20 square feet. The skin is responsible for a variety of major functions that are responsible for protection of human being from the external harmful organism as well as maintaining the homeostasis. The major functions of the skin are summarized as follows

Protection of the internal tissues and organs (Pringle and Penzer 2002).

Assemble sensory information from the external environment

Thermoregulation maintaining the body temperature(McLafferty et al 2009).

Synthesis of vitamin D (Tortora and Derrickson 2009).

Anatomy and Physiology

Anatomically, the skin is divided into three prominent layers. These are

Epidermis

Dermis

Subcutaneous layer

Epidermis

Epidermis is the outer most layer of the skin. This layer consists of a protein, known as Keratin. This keratin is responsible for giving the skin its toughness (WebMD, 2009). The thickness of the epidermis can vary from individual to individual; however, the range given is from 0.05 mm to 1.5mm.

Anatomy and Physiology of Epidermis

S.No

Part of the epidermis

Anatomy

physiology

1

Stratum corneum (horny layer)

consists of mature keratinocytes, made up of keratins

prevents loss of fluid and entrance of foreign substances in the body

2

Keratinocytes (squamous cells)

consists of keratins that are not completely mature yet

formation of stratum corneum through maturation of keratin

3

Basal layer

It is composed of basal cells.

the basal cells forms the new keratinocytes, after the old ones are shed from the outer layer

Dermis

Dermis is the middle layer of the skin and comprises of following

1

Blood vessels

2

Hair follicles

3

 Lymph vessels

4

Sweat glands

5

Nerves

6

Collagen bundles

7

Fibroblasts

8

Collagen

Subcutaneous Layer

This is the last and the deepest layer of the skin which is composed of a network of collagen and fat cells. These entities, together, provide the body with the conservation of heat and acts as a “shock absorber” securing the human body from injuries (WebMD, 2009).

Skin Cells

The skin is composed of various types if stem cells. The prominent specialized cells found in the skin are given below.

Melanocytes

These are present in epidermis and are responsible for the formation of the pigment that gives the skin its color. This pigment is called melanin.

Fibroblasts

They are present in the dermis and are responsible for forming the collagen fibers that ensure the integrity of dermis. They provide the skin with flexibility and strength and are enriched with touch and pain receptors.

Keratinocytes 

These are the cells found in the epidermis of the skin. They forms the keratin that gives strength to skin.

Skin Appendages

Skin appendages are the structure that has close association with skin. The skin appendages are given in the table below

Skin Appendages

Functions

hairs

Protects from heat loss and protection

arrector pilli

responsible for pulling the hair straight

sebaceous glands

produces sebum and protects the skin from dehydration

sweat glands

production ...