Chapter 2

Integumentary System
What is the integumentary system?

 The integumentary system consists

of the skin and its accessory
structures,
 including the hair, nails, sebaceous
glands, and sweat glands etc.
1. The skin

 The skin is the exterior covering of the body.

 It weighs more than 6 pounds in the average adult,
and covers more than 3,000 square inches.
 It is the largest organ of the body.
 It is supplied with blood vessels and nerves.
3.1. Skin Glands
Oil glands (Sebaceous Glands,
holocrine)
 keeps hair soft and pliable
especially on face and scalp
 not on palms, soles or dorsal side of
feet
 reduces heat loss
 lipids are poor heat conductors
 helps prevent water evaporation
 become active at puberty
 secrete sebum = breakdown
products of dead cells
 Sweat Glands (sudoriferous)(eccrine
glands)

 ~3 Million total on skin

 ~3000 sweat glands/inch2

 most numerous on palms, soles,

forehead, armpits

 essentially a tiny coiled tube that

opens to skin surface

 helps maintain temperature and

fluid/electrolyte balance

 ‡ heat ‡ sweat ‡ evaporative cooling

 Scent Glands (apocrine glands)

 modified sweat glands ‡ scent,

pheromones

 much less common

 confined to axillary and genital area

 their ducts empty into hair follicles

 secretions contain fatty acids and

proteins in addition to “sweat”

 respond especially to stress and

sexual stimulation
Mammary Glands
 modified sweat glands
 produce milk
Ceruminous Glands
 modified sweat glands
 in external ear canal
 secrete waxy pigmented cerumin
 protection ‡ traps dust and particles
General Functions of the
skin:
2. temperature homeostasis
1. protection  >temp ‡ sweat glands, flushing
mechanical
3. excretion
chemical
 affects fluid & electrolyte balance
bacterial
 sweat glands release: water, salts,
UV
ammonia
desiccation  oil glands release: lipids, acids
4. sensation 5. synthesis
touch (light touch, wind, • vitamin D precursor passes through
etc) capillaries
pressure • in skin and light converts it to vitamin D
heat 6. nonverbal communication
cold • eg. humans and other primates have
pain much more expressive faces than other
animals
2.The hair  The hair is a threadlike structure formed by a
group of cells that develop within a hair
follicle or socket.
 Each hair has a shaft that is visible and a root
that is embedded in the follicle.

 A pilomotor muscle is attached to the side of

each follicle. It is stimulated by skin irritants,
emotional arousal, or cold temperatures, and
reacts by contracting. This causes goose flesh
or goose pimples.
 The hair …

 At the base of each hair follicle is a

bulb enclosing a loop of capillaries. It
is called the hair papilla,
 papilla provides nourishment to the
hair. It is one of the few living parts
of the hair, and is responsible for hair
growth.
 The hair…

 The transparent cuticle covers the hair shaft like

shingles on a roof, protecting it from the elements and
chemicals, and from losing moisture.
 The cortex provides most of the hair’s weight. It
contains melanin which provides color to the hair,
stores oils, provides flexibility and elasticity, and
adds shape to the hair. When the cuticle is damaged
and exposes the cortex, hair looks dull and dry.
 The medulla is a inner hollow core that runs the
length of the shaft.
The Hair
 covers entire body except palms, soles, lips,nipples, parts of external
genitals

 hormones account for the development of “hairy” regions:

eg. head, axillary and pubic areas

 humans are born with as many follicles as they will ever have

 hairs are among the fastest growing tissues in the body

 formation similar to epidermis

 heavily keratinized
3. Nails
 scale-like modification of the epidermis
 fingernails and toenails are clear, hard derivatives of stratum
corneum
 very thin, dead, scaly cells, densely packed together
 corresponds to hoof or claw of animals
 most mammals have claws, flat nails are a primate characteristic
 can be used for digging and picking apart food, etc
 Nails …
 Fingernails and toenails are hard keratin
structures that protect the ends of the
fingers and toes.
 The nail root, also called the germinal
matrix or nailbed, begins several
millimeters into the finger and extends to
the edge of the white,
 crescent-shaped lunula. This is where the
growth occurs… approximately 1 mm. per
week.
* The under-surface of the nail plate or body
of the nail has grooves that help anchor it.
Effects of ageing and diseases
 the skin can develop >1000 different ailments
 the most common skin disorders result from allergies or infections
 less common are burns and skin cancers

A. Allergies
 1. Contact Dermatitis
 allergic response
 eg. poison ivy, metals, etc
B. Infections 3. Bacterial

1. viral eg. boils and carbuncles

eg. cold sores  inflammation of hair follicle and

 herpes simplex sebaceous glands especially on
dorsal side of neck
 especially around lips and oral
mucosa

2. Fungal
 eg. athletes foot
C. Genetic Diseases
1. Psoriasis 2. Hypertrichosis (human werewolves)
 chronic, noninfectious skin disease
• patients show dense hair growth on
 skin becomes dry and scaly, often with
pustules faces and upper bodies due to
 many varieties malfunction of gene on x chromosome
 cycle of skin cell production increases • ‡ a gene silenced during evolution has
 stratum corneum gets thick as dead
been reactivated
cells accumulate
 seems to be a genetic component
 often triggered by trauma, infection ,
hormonal changes or stress
D. Burns 3rd degree burns
 too much sunlight or heat • full thickness of skin is destroyed
 categorized by degree of
• sometimes even subcutaneous tissues
penetration of skin layer
1st degree burns • results in ulcerating wounds
 skin is inflamed, red • typically results in catastrophic loss of
 surface layer of skin is shed fluids:
2nd degree burns • dehydration
 deeper injury • electrolyte imbalances
 blisters form as fluid builds up • also highly susceptible to infect
beneath outer layers of epidermis
E. Skin Cancer
 2. Squamous Cell Carcinoma
caused by excessive or chronic
exposure to UV,xrays or radiation • cancer of the cells in stratum
 spinosum
most forms progress slowly and are
easily treated • usually induced by sun
 a few are deadly • cells grow rapidly and grow into the
lymphatic tissues
1. Basal Cell Carcinoma
 3. Malignant Melanoma
least malignant
 • cancer of pigment cells =
most common
melanocytes
 stratum basale cant form keratin
• rare ~1% of skin cancers
 lose boundary layer between epidermis
• deadly, poor chance of cure once it
and dermis
develops
 results in tissue erosion and ulceration
• often begins with moles
 99% of these cancers are fully cured
F. Aging
Skin
 effects often become noticeable by late 40’s
Hair
 thinner and grayer as melanocytes die and mitosis
slows
Oil glands
 sebaceous glands atrophy
 skin and hair become drier
Skin Layers
• mitosis declines, collagen is lost from dermis
• skin becomes thinner and translucent
• looser and sagging as elastic fibers are lost and dermal
• papillae smooth out
• fewer blood vessels and those remaining are more fragile
• more bruising, slower healing and rosacea
• ‡ tiny dilated blood vessels esp. in nose and cheeks
• age spots – accumulation of pigment cells
• loss of immune cells and fibroblasts makes skin more susceptible
Photoaging
= an acceleration of skin aging due to overexposure to sun (UV)
• accounts for 90% of the changes that people find medically troubling or
G. Autoimmune Disease

eg. alopecia areata

 causes hair to fall out in small round patches
 ~2% of population (4.7M in US) have some form of it
 hair loss is usually short term and limited to a few patches
 in rare cases causes permanent loss of all body hair
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