The document provides comprehensive notes on the integumentary system, detailing the structure and function of the skin, hair, and nails. It explains the roles in protection, temperature regulation, and sensation. Emphasis is placed on skin layers, healing processes, and common disorders.
,• The integumentary system refers to the skin and its accessory structures.
• In the adult human body, the skin makes up about 16% of body weight and co
area of 1.5 to 2 m2.
• The skin and accessory structures are the largest organ system in the human
• Consequently the skin protects your inner organs and it is in need of daily car
protection to maintain its health.
• The skin is made of multiple layers of cells and tissues, which are held to und
structures by connective tissue.
• The deeper layer of skin is well vascularized, and also has numerous sensory,
sympathetic, and autonomic nerve fibers.
• The skin is composed of two main layers:
• The epidermis, made of closely packed epithelial cells, and
• The dermis, made of dense, irregular connective tissue that houses blood vessels, hair
sweat glands, and other structures.
• Beneath the dermis lies the hypodermis, which is composed mainly of loose
connective and fatty tissues.
,THE INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM
, • The epidermis is the most superficial layer of the skin and is composed
stratified keratinised squamous epithelium.
• It is made of four or five layers of epithelial cells, depending on its locat
the body, and is avascular.
• Skin that has four layers of cells is referred to as “thin skin.”
• From deep to superficial, these layers are the stratum basale1, stratum
spinosum2, stratum granulosum3, and stratum corneum4.
• “Thick skin” is found only on the palms of the hands and the soles of th
• It has a fifth layer, called the stratum lucidum*, located between the str
corneum and the stratum granulosum.
• The cells in all of the layers except the stratum basale are called keratin
• A keratinocyte is a cell that manufactures and stores keratin, an intrace
fibrous protein that gives hair, nails, and skin their hardness and water-
resistant properties.
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