Skin as an organizing

model
What is it? (Anatomy)
What is it made of?
(Histology)
What does it do?
(Physiology)
What is it (anatomy)?

Outer covering of body

Keratinized
Hair—head, pubic regions
Nails—fingers, toes
Divided into segments called
dermatomes (“Zebra-man”)

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 What does it do?
• PROTECTION
– Air = desiccation
– Water = bloating/”pruning”
– Sun/u-v = burns
– Cold/heat = frostbite/heat
stroke/thermoregulation
• STRUCTURAL
– Integrity of body
– Muscle attachment
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 How does it do it?
PROTECTION (mostly epidermis)
Desiccation—keratin, lipid layer
Water = keratin, lipid layer
Sun/u-v = role of pigment/melanin
Cold/heat = surface blood vessels
STRUCTURAL (mostly dermis)
Integrity—Dermal layer has network of tough
collagen fibers in connective tissue
Sub-dermal layer where muscle tendons
insert

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 SKIN FUNCTION

 Serves as a barrier to physical, biological, and

chemical agents and to radiation
 Regulates body temperature (thermoregulation)
by evaporative cooling (perspiration), heat
radiation at the surface of the body (blood
circulation), and   serves as insulation (a minor
function in humans)
 Site of excretion through sweat glands
 Photochemical production of vitamin D
 Serves as a sensory organ
 What is it made of?
(histology—study of tissues)

Layers of skin are

two fundamental
types of tissue
organization
Epidermis =
epithelium
Dermis =
connective tissue

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 Epidermis—a stratified
epithelium

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Dermis—connective tissue
substrate

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 Skin is really an organ…
Made up of two very different
basic tissue types
the epidermis which is
composed of epithelial tissues
The dermis which is composed
of connective tissue

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