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The skin is composed of two kinds of tissue: the outer epidermis and the underlying dermis.
Epidermis
The outer epidermis composed of stratified squamous epithelium that is capable of keratinizing
or becoming hard and tough.
The skin appendages include cutaneous glands, hair and hair follicle, and nails.
Cutaneous Glands
As these glands are formed by the cells of the stratum basale, they push into deeper skin
regions and ultimately reside almost entirely in the dermis.
Exocrine glands. The cutaneous glands are all exocrine glands that release their
secretions to the skin surface via ducts and they fall into two groups: sebaceous
glands and sweat glands.
Sebaceous (oil) glands. The sebaceous, or oil, glands are found all over the skin,
except on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet; their ducts usually
empty into a hair follicle; the product of the sebaceous glands, sebum, is a
mixture of oily substances and fragmented cells, and it is a lubricant that keeps
the skin soft and moist and prevents the hair from becoming brittle.
Sweat glands. Sweat glands, also called sudoriferous glands, are widely
distributed in the skin, and there are two types: eccrine and apocrine.
Eccrine glands. The eccrine glands are far more numerous and are found all over
the body; they produce sweat, a clear secretion that is primarily water plus some
salts, vitamin C, trace of metabolic wastes, and lactic acid; the eccrine glands are
also a part of the body’s heat regulating equipment.
Apocrine glands. Apocrine glands are largely confined to the axillary and genital
areas of the body; they are usually larger than eccrine glands and their ducts
empty into hair follicles; their secretion contain fatty acids and proteins, as well as
all substances present in eccrine secretion; they begin to function during puberty
under the influence of androgens, and they also play a minimal role in
thermoregulation.
Hair and Hair Follicles
There are millions of hairs scattered all over the body, but other than serving a few minor
protective functions, our body hair has lost much of its usefulness.
A nail is a scalelike modification of the epidermis that corresponds to the hoof or claw of other
animals.
Anagen. Anagen is the active phase of hair; the cells in the root of the hair are
dividing rapidly; a new hair is formed and pushes the club hair (a hair that has
stopped growing or is no longer in the anagen phase) up the follicle and
eventually out.
Catagen. The catagen phase is a transitional stage; growth stops and the outer
root sheath shrinks and attaches to the root of the hair.
Telogen. Telogen is the resting phase; during this phase, the hair follicle is
completely at rest and the club hair is completely formed.
Nail Growth
Nail growth is separated into 3 areas: (1) germinal matrix, (2) sterile matrix, and (3) dorsal roof of
the nail fold.
Germinal matrix. It is found on the ventral floor of the nail fold; the nail is
produced by gradient parakeratosis , then cells near the periosteum of the
phalanx duplicate and enlarge (macrocytosis); newly formed cells migrate distally
and dorsally in a column toward the nail; cells meet resistance at established nail,
causing them to flatten and elongate as they are incorporated into the nail; it
initially retains nuclei (lunula); more distal cells become nonviable and lose nuclei.
Sterile matrix. The area of the sterile matrix is distal to the lunula and it has a
variable amount of nail growth; it contributes squamous cells, aiding in nail
strength and thickness and it has a role in nail plate adherence by linear ridges in
the sterile matrix epithelium.
Dorsal roof of the nail fold. The nail is produced in a similar manner as the
germinal matrix, but the cells lose nuclei more rapidly and it imparts shine to the
nail plate.