8. Integument Flashcards
What classification of epithelial tissue is seen in the epidermis?
Keratinized stratified squamous
What embryological structure gives rise to melanocytes?
What is the clinical relevance of this geneology?
Neural Crest
When melanocytes become cancerous (melanoma), the neural crest’s desire to migrate gets turned on. Therefore melanomas are likely to metastasize.
Where are melanocytes found?
Stratum Basale
Why might superficial Stratum Corneum cells be less able to attach to one another than deeper cells of the epidermis?
Because the lowered pH is unfavorable to cell junctions
What nail cell divides to form the majority of the nail?
Nail Matrix stem cells
Where might the dermal epidermal junction be more “zippered?”
Areas of increased mechanical stress
Where do we find the erector pili muscles?
In the Hypodermis
In what layer of the dermis are you likely to find more vasculature and nerve endings?
The papillary layer
What would we find in the medulla of a hair follicle?
Large, loosely connected, keratinized cells
In what layer of the eipdermis would we find “squames?”
Stratum Corneum
(This is what some people refer to the flat corneal cells as)
Cells of the Stratum Corneum do not have nucleii or organelles, what other layer of cells in the epidermis shares this description?
Stratum Lucidium
How do keratinocytes uptake melanin?
What is the term for this action?
They phagocytose it
Pigment donation
What is the function of a Pacinian Corpuscle?
Detecting pressure and vibration
What layer of the skin can be described as containing “polyhedral keratinocytes?”
The Stratum Spinosum
What does “desquamation” mean?
Means that cells will be sloughed off of the surface due to contact with the outside world.
Where is the water barrier of the epidermis primarily found?
Between the cells of the Stratum Granulosum and the Stratum Corneum
(It also exists between the layers of the Stratum Corneum)
Why does the Stratum Granulosum appear so dark purple on a normal stain?
Because keratohyalin granules are basophillic
What would we find in the Cortex of a hair follicle?
Hard keratinized cells and intermediate filaments
What are Langerhans Cells?
Antigen presenting macrophages that provide defense from pathogens
What do sebaceous glands secrete?
Sebum
Where does the initial melalanin production occur within a melanocyte?
The Premelanosomes
What layer of skin can only be seen in thick skin?
Stratum Lucidium
What do Langerhans Cells develop from?
Monocyte precursor
Where in the dermis would you find thicker collagen fibers and course elastic fibers?
The Reticular layer
Where does melanin sit in the nucleus of a keratinocyte?
As a “dark umbrella” over the nucleus
(How is Dark Umbrella not the name of a goth rock band?)
What binds the most basal cells of the stratum basale to the dermis?
Hemidesmosomes
What is the thickest layer of the non-keratinized portion of the epidermis?
Stratum Granulosum
(These cells produce karatin precursors to the layers above them)
What is a “cornified” cell?
A cell that is full of keratin
What do you call the protrusions of epidermis into the dermis?
Epidermal Rete or Ridges
What is the Lunula?
The crescent shaped white part at the base of the nail, near the nail matrix
What causes fingerprints?
Dermal Ridges of thick skin
What induces an epidermal cell to loose its nucleii and organelles?
Lowered pH