Physiology Flashcards
Integumentary system makes up how much of the adult’s body wt? It is continuous with what?
- largest organ of the body
- 15% of total adult body wt
- skin is continuous with mucous membranes
- continuous cycle of healing, shedding, and cell regeneration
Fxns of the skin?
- prevent fluid loss
- protection barrier
- area for heat exchange
- harbors immune cells that protect against invading microorganisms
- neuro receptor relay system: touch, pressure, temp, pain
- vit D synthesis
Epidermis - 4 diff cell types?
- covers entire body
4 cell types: - keratinocytes: further categorized into stratum layers
- melanocytes
- merkel’s cells (basal layer of epidermis)
- langerhan’s cells
Fxn of the keratinocytes?
- predominant cell of the epidermis
- change size and shape as they move superficially, replacing cells lost during normal cell shedding
- produces fibrous protein called keratin - which is essential to the protective fxn of the skin and is the structural protein of hair and nails
5 separate layers of keratinocytes?
- stratum germinativum or stratum basale: single layer of columnar cells, undergo mitosis, no migration
- stratum spinosum: 2-4 layers, cell diff
- stratum granulosum: only few layers, most diff (some losing cytoplasm, other continue to synthesize keratin)
- stratum lucidum: thin, transparent layer mostly confined to palms of the hands and soles of feet, transitional cells
- stratum corneum: many layers (15-100 layers depending on location), dead squamous type keratinized cells - palms and soles have many layers!
Location and fxn of melanocytes? MOA of melanin production
- located at or in basal layer
- pigment-synthesizing cells (produce melanin): ability to synthesize melanin depends on ability of melanocytes to produce the enzyme tyrosinase (converts AA tyrosine to precursor of melanin) - lacking this enzyme leads to albinism
- each melanocyte supplies several keratinocytes with melanin through cytoplasm-filled extensions
What increases the production of melanin? Primary fxn of melanin and melanocytes?
- exposure to UV rays
- protect from UV rays (melanin absorbs and scatters radiation)
Do darked skinned and light-skinned people have diff amt of melanocytes? Where are there relatively no melanocytes?
- they have same amt of melanocytes (just the efficiency of production and shipping differs)
- all people, regardless of skin color, have relatively few or no melanocytes in palms or soles
Fxn of merkel’s cells?
- fxn as mechanoreceptors (touch receptors) - have a lot on fingertips
- least densely pop. cells of the epidermis
Where are langerhan’s cells located? Fxn?
- scattered in suprabasal layer of epidermis
- few in number compared to keratinocytes
- fxn: immunologic cells responsible for recognizing foreign antigens harmful to the body
- bind antigen to their surface, process it, and send it on to regional lymph nodes
Dermis:
location, composition?
- CT layer separating epidermis from the subq fat layer
- Mostly composed of collagen (major stress-resistant material of the skin)
also composed of: - variety of immune cells
- nerves (receptors for touch, pressure, heat, cold, and pain)
- blood vessels: dermis is richly supplied by arteriovenous anastomoses
What does the Subq tissue consist of?
- primarily of fat and CT that lend support to vascular and neural structures supplying the dermis and epidermis
- eccrine glands and deep hair follicles extend to this layer
What are the 4 skin appendages?
- sweat glands
- sebaceous glands
- hair
- nails
2 types of sweat glands?
- eccrine (merocrine) sweat glands: located over entire body surface, originate in dermis and open directly to skin surface, primary fxn is to transport sweat to body surface to reg body temp (cool down body by evaporation)
- apocrine sweat glands: less numerous, larger, located in deep dermal layer, open through a hair follicle, secrete more of an oily substance, sterile until mixed with bacteria. Actual gland itself is breaking off with oily substance to be secreted
Sebaceous glands:
location, what do they secrete, fxn?
- located over entire skin surface except for palms, soles, and sides of feet
- part of piliosebaceous unit
- secrete a mix called sebum which is composed of lipids, cholesterol, and other substances
- fxn: lubricate hair and skin
- relatively inactive until adolescence (ACNE)
- amt of sebum produced is directly related to gland size
- testosterone - increases gland size
Most hair follicles are related to what glands? What does the entire hair structure consist of?
- most hair follicles assoc with sebaceous glands (pilosebaceous unit)
- hair structure consists of:
hair follicle and hair shaft
sebaceous gland
hair muscle - arrector pili
sometimes apocrine gland (not as common)
Hair shaft is mostly composed of what? What does it undergo? How is hair shed and what determines this?
- mostly composed of keratin
- undergoes cyclic shedding
- hair follicles work independently
- human beings shed hair asynchronously
- Once it reaches certain length it will shed, genetics probably determines length of hair
What nourishes the hair follicle? What determines hair color?
- vascular network at site of follicular bulb nourishes and maintains hair follicle
- melanocytes located in bulb determine color
What causes goose bumps?
- arrector pili muscle that is located under sebaceous glands
Composition of nails?
Fxn of nails?
- hardened keratinized plates
- grows from curved transverse groove called nail groove
- floor of groove is nail matrix, which is germinal region of nail plate
- nail plate lies in nail bed
- medical term for cuticle = eponychium
- fxn: protects fingers and toes, enhances dexterity
What can skin changes signify?
- systemic disease
Diff b/t primary and secondary lesions?
- primary: arise from previously normal skin
- secondary: created by another process such as scratching or infection
What are the primary lesions?
- macule, patch
- papule, plaque, nodule, tumor, wheal
- vesicle, bulla, pustule
What is a macule?
- circumscribed flat lesion that is less than 1 cm
- ex: petechia, freckles
What is a patch?
- circumscribed flat lesion that is larger than 1 cm
- vitiligo
What is a papule? What may it become?
- elevated solid lesion with variable color, smaller than 0.5 cm
ex: elevated nevus - may become confluent and become a plaque
What is a plaque?
- raised flat-topped superficial lesion where diameter is greater than the thickness (larger than 0.05 cm) - often formed by coalescence of papules
- psoriasis
What is a nodule?
- elevated lesion with a rounded surface (generally deeper and firmer than a papule) - b/t 0.5- 1- 2cm