Integumentary System Flashcards
What organs and structures are part of the integumentary system?
The skin, hair, nails, and accessory glands
What is the function of the integumentary system?
Provides protection from and picks up signals about the body’s surroundings
How many layers does the skin have? (Name them)
3
Epidermis, dermis, hypodermis
What is the function of the epidermis? (Outer most layer)
Provides a barrier to infection from environmental pathogens and regulates the amount of water lost to the body’s surroundings
-constantly being replaced with new skin cells
What structures are part of the dermis?
Nerve endings, hair follicles, sweat and oil glands, and capillaries
What structures are part of the hypodermis?
Blood vessels and adipose tissue
(Deepest layer of the skin)
What is the function of sweat glands (sudoriferous glands)?
Responsible for the excretion of water and minerals (sodium, chloride, magnesium) from the body
What are the two types of sweat glands?
Eccrine and apocrine glands
Where are eccrine glands found?
Appear all over the body (primary sweat gland)
Where are apocrine glands found?
Found in armpits, nipples and groin
-not active until puberty
Where are sebaceous glands found and what are their function?
Found all over the body except the soles of the feet and palms of the hand
-secretes sebum (mixture of fats,and proteins) that prevents the skin and hair form drying out
WHat are hair follicles?
Columns in the skin that have a large concentration of keratin-producing cells
How does the body cool itself (during hyperthermia)?
Blood vessels: dilate
Sudoriferous glands: increase sweating
Hair follicles: relax
How does the body warm itself (during hypothermia)
Blood vessels: constrict
Sudoriferous glands: cease sweating
Hair follicles: stand erect
