Integumentary System Flashcards
What is the integumentary system?
A complex set of organs consisting of the skin and its appendages (sweat and oil glands, hairs, and nails) that serves several functions, mostly protective.
What are the two layers of the skin?
The epidermis and dermis.
What is subcutaneous tissue?
The layer of tissue beneath the dermis that is mostly made up of fat and connective tissue.
What are some functions of the skin and its derivatives?
Mostly protective functions, such as regulating body temperature, protecting against physical and chemical damage, and preventing water loss.
What causes skin color?
The amount and type of melanin produced by melanocytes in the epidermis.
What are sweat and sebaceous glands?
Sweat glands produce sweat to regulate body temperature, while sebaceous glands produce oil to lubricate and waterproof the skin and hair.
What are some developmental aspects of the integumentary system?
Changes in skin thickness, elasticity, and pigmentation occur with aging, and skin cancer risk increases with prolonged sun exposure.
What are some things that can go wrong with the integumentary system?
Skin conditions such as acne, eczema, and psoriasis, as well as skin cancer and infections.
What are some functions of the skin?
Regulating body temperature, protecting against physical and chemical damage, and preventing water loss.
What is the subcutaneous tissue?
The layer of tissue just deep to the skin, consisting mostly of adipose tissue with some areolar connective tissue, that anchors the skin to underlying structures and acts as a shock absorber and insulator.
What are the functions of the subcutaneous tissue?
To anchor the skin to underlying structures, act as a shock absorber and insulator, and protect the body by allowing the skin to slide relatively freely over those structures.
What is the skin’s total surface area and how much does it weigh in the average adult?
The skin’s total surface area is 2.2 square meters, and it accounts for about 7% of total body weight in the average adult.
What are the two distinct layers of the skin?
The epidermis, composed of epithelial cells and the outermost protective shield of the body, and the underlying dermis, making up the bulk of the skin and composed mostly of dense connective tissue.
Which layer of the skin is vascularized?
Only the dermis is vascularized. Nutrients reach the epidermis by diffusing through the tissue fluid from blood vessels in the dermis.
What are some of the appendages of the skin?
Eccrine sweat gland, arrector pili muscle, sebaceous (oil) gland, hair follicle, hair root.
What are some of the nervous structures in the skin?
Sensory nerve fiber with free nerve endings, lamellar corpuscle, hair follicle receptor (root hair plexus).
What is the function of the dermal vascular plexus?
To supply blood to the skin and help regulate body temperature.
What is the purpose of the Check Your Understanding section?
To test the reader’s comprehension of the material presented in the chapter.
Name the four types of cells found in the epidermis.
Keratinocytes, melanocytes, dendritic cells, and tactile epithelial cells.
What is the chief role of keratinocytes?
To produce keratin, the fibrous protein that helps give the epidermis its protective properties.
What is the most common type of cell found in the epidermis?
Keratinocytes.
What is the function of melanocytes?
To produce melanin, the pigment that gives color to the skin and protects it from UV radiation.
What are the major layers of the epidermis?
Stratum basale, stratum spinosum, stratum granulosum, and stratum corneum.
What is the deepest layer of the epidermis?
Stratum basale.