Lecture 1 Flashcards
Anatomy of the skin - I
The skin is the…?
Largest and most visible organ of the body covering around 1.5-2m^2 and weighing around 16% of our total body mass
Evolution provided us with…?
Sweat glands as a cooling mechanism
What are the accessory structures?
Hair follicles, sweat glands, nail beds, sebaceous glands and receptors
What is the integumentary system?
The skin and accessory structues
What are the functions of the integumentary system?
Protection, excretion, temperature regulation, melanin production, keratin production, synthesis of vitamin D3 to calcitriol, lipid storage, receptor detection
What is a composite tissue?
A structure made up from more than one basic tissue type
What basic tissue types is the skin made up of?
Epithelial, connective, muscle and nervous
What are the three primary layers of the skin?
Epidermis, dermis and hypodermis
What is the epidermis?
An avascular stratified barrier of mostly keratinocytes
What is the dermis?
A vascular structure deep to the epidermis made from protein fibres (collagen and elastin) for strength
What is the hypodermis?
A vascular structure deep to the dermis made from mostly adipose tissue which stores fat to be mobilised during a time of fasting or extended starvation for energy
What is the cutaneous layer?
Epidermis and dermis
What is the subcutaneous layer?
Hypodermis
What is simple epithelia?
One layer of epithelial cells arranged as either squamous, cuboidal or columnar
What is stratified epithelia?
Many layers of epithelial cells arranged as either squamous, cuboidal or columnar