Lesson 2.7 The Integumentary System Flashcards
What is the Integumentary system composed of?
The integumentary system includes skin, hair, nails, glands, and nerve endings.
Describe the effects occurring to the Integumentary system.
It receives the most exposure to infection, disease, and injury because it is the protective barrier against sun, wind, cold, heat, bacteria, and physical trauma.
Name the layers of skin tissue.
Epidermis, dermis, and the subcutaneous layer.
Which layer is the epidermis?
The outer layer is the epidermis.
Which layer is the dermis?
The second layer.
Which layer is the subcutaneous?
The third layer.
Describe the epidermis.
The epidermis protects the skin from microbes, heat, and chemicals. The outermost cells are constantly worn away and replaced by new cells growing from below.
Describe the dermis layer.
The dermis contains the blood vessels, hair follicles, sweat glands, and nerves. It is here where temperature, fluids, and circulation are regulated.
Describe the subcutaneous layer,
The fat layer serves as protection for the organs, bones, and muscles, as a storehouse of energy, and as an insulator from the cold.
What is the primary function of hair?
Protection.
How does hair provide its true function?
Hair on the head protects the scalp from sunburn and injury and prevents heat loss. Eyebrows and eyelashes guard the eyes from foreign particles. Hair in the nostrils and external ear canals prevent insects and foreign particles from entering through the nasal and auditory orifices.
What do nails allow?
Nails allow us to grasp and manoeuvre small objects.
Describe the composition of the nails.
They are tightly packed, hardened cells of the epidermis that form a solid cover to protect the ends of the fingers and toes from injury. Although nails are clear, most of the nail body looks pink because of the blood circulating beneath it.
Name the glands associated with the skin.
The glands associated with the skin are the oil glands, sweat glands, ceruminous glands (a type of sweat gland in the ear), and mammary glands.
The skin glands are responsible for what functions?
The excretions from the oil, sweat, and ceruminous glands help to eliminate waste and toxins from the body, lubricate the skin and hair to keep them soft, and prevent foreign particles from entering the body. The mammary glands release milk from a woman’s breast for nursing an infant.
