MTY1102: HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
CHAPTER 5: INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM
GENERAL GUIDLINES
LEGEND FOR HEADERS
MAIN TOPIC
SUBTOPIC
SUB-SUBTOPIC
FUNCTIONS OF THE
INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM
• Protection. Skin provides
protection against abrasion
and ultraviolet light. Prevent
microorganisms from entering
the body and reduces water
loss
• Sensation. Has sensory
receptors that can detect heat,
cold, touch, pressure, and pain
• Vitamin D production. Exposed
to ultraviolet light, skin
produces a molecule that can
be transformed into vitamin D
• Temperature regulation. Blood
flow beneath the skin’s surface
and activity of sweat gland help
regulate the body temperature
• Excretion. Small amounts of
waste products are lost through
the skin and in gland secretions
SKIN
• Made up of two major tissues
o Epidermis
o Dermis
• Dermis is 10 to 20 times thicker
than the epidermis
• Skin rests on the
subcutaneous tissue, a layer
of connective tissue
o Not part of the skin but it
connects the skin to
underlying muscle or
bone
EPIDERMIS
• Most superficial layer of skin
• Stratified squamous epithelium
• In its deepest layers, new cells
are produced by mitosis
o Push older cells to the
surface, where they
slough, or flake off
• Rests on the dermis
• During movement, cells change
shape and chemical
composition, a process called
keratinization
o Cells become filled with
protein keratin, which
makes them more rigid
and durable
• Distinct layers called strata,
can be seen in the epidermis
• Deepest stratum, stratum
basale, consists of cuboidal or
columnar cells that undergo
mitotic divisions about every 19
days
• One daughter cell becomes a
new stratum basale, the other
is pushed toward the surface
(takes 40-56 days)
• Stratum corneum – most
superficial stratum of the
epidermis
o Consists of 25 or more
layers of dead squamous
cells filled with keratin
joined by desmosomes
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 o Coated and surrounded
by lipids
o Excessive sloughing of
stratum corneum cells
from the surface is called
dandruff
• In skin subjected to friction,
number of layers in the stratum
corneum greatly increases,
producing a thickened area
called a callus
• Over a bony prominence, the
stratum corneum can thicken to
form a cone-shaped structure
called a corn

DERMIS
• Dense collagenous connective
tissue containing fibroblasts,
adipocytes, and macrophages
• Nerves, hair follicles, smooth
muscles, glands, and lymphatic
vessels extend into the dermis
• Collagen and elastic fibers
strengthen the dermis
• Collagen fibers are oriented in
some directions than the
others, producing cleavage
lines
o Make an incision parallel
with the cleavage lines to
lessen the gap and
produce less scar tissue
• Stretch marks – skin is
overstretched

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• Dermal papillae – upper part
of the dermis which extend
toward the epidermis
o Contain many blood
vessels; supplies the
overlying epidermis with
nutrients, removes waste
products, and help
regulate body temperate
• Intradermal injection –
drawing the skin taut and
inserting a small needle at a
shallow angle into the dermis;
tuberculin skin test
• Subcutaneous injection –
pinching the skin to form a
“tent” and inserting a short
needle into the adipose tissue
of the subcutaneous tissue;
insulin injection
• Intramuscular injection –
inserting a long needle at a 90-
degree angle to the skin into a
muscle deep to the
subcutaneous tissue; used for
vaccines and certain antibiotics
SKIN COLOR
• Melanin – group of pigments
primarily responsible for skin,
hair, and eye color
o Most melanin molecules
are brown to black
pigments, but some are
yellowish or reddish
o Provides protection
against ultraviolet light
from the sun
• Melanocytes – produces
melanin; irregularly shaped
cells with many long processes
that extend between the
epithelial cells of the deep part
of the epidermis
o Within melanocytes, the
Golgi apparatuses
package melanin into
vesicles called
melanosomes
• Melanin production is
determined by genetic factors,
exposure to light, and
hormones
• Albinism – recessive genetic
trait that causes a deficiency or
an absence of melanin; fair
skin, white hair, unpigmented
irises in the eye s
• Cyanosis – decrease in the
blood O2 content produces a
bluish color of the skin
• Carotene – yellow pigment
found in plants such as squash
and carrots; large amount is
consumed, skin can become
yellowish
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 ACCESSORY SKIN STRUCTURES

HAIR
• Hair follicle – invagination of
the epidermis that extends
deep into the dermis
• Shaft – protrudes above the
surface of the skin
• Root – below the surface
SUBCUTANEOUS TISSUE
• Hair bulb – expanded bas of
• Attaches the skin to underlying the root
bone and muscle
• A hair has a hard cortex, which
• Supplies the skin with blood surrounds a softer center, the
vessels and nerves medulla
• Also known as hypodermis • Cortex is covered by the
• Loose connective tissue, cuticle, single layer of
including adipose tissue that overlapping cells that holds the
contains about half the body’s hair in the hair follicle
stored lipids • Hair is produced in the hair
• Adipose tissue in the bulb, rests on the hair papilla
subcutaneous tissue functions • Hair papilla – extension of the
as padding and insulation dermis that protrudes into the
o Responsible for hair bulb
appearance and
individual of the same
• Blood vessels in the papilla
supply the hair bulb with the
sex
nourishment needed to
• Can be used to estimate total produce the hair
body fat
• Arrector pili – smooth muscle
• Pinch at selected location, cells
thickness of the fold is o When contracted, it
measured causes the hair to
o Thicker the fold, greater become more
the amount of total body perpendicular to the
fat skin’s surface
• Women have higher total body
fat
• 21% - 30% = females
(acceptable)
• 13% - 25% = males
(acceptable)

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 and the surface of
the skin

TYPES OF SWEAT GLANDS

• Eccrine sweat glands –
simple, coiled, tubular glands
and released sweat by
merocrine secretion
o Most numerous are
located in the palms and
soles
o Produce a secretion that
is mostly water with a
few salts
o Have ducts that open
onto the surface of the
skin through sweat pores
• Apocrine sweat glands –
simple, coiled, tubular glands
that produce a thick secretion
rich in organic substances
o Released by merocrine
secretion, some
demonstrate holocrine
secretion
o Open into hair follicles,
but only in the armpits
GLANDS and genitalia
• Major glands of the skin o Become active at
o Sebaceous glands puberty because of the
o Sweat glands influence of sex
hormones
• Sebaceous glands – simple,
branched acinar glands
o Connected by a duct to
the superficial part of a
hair follicle
o Produce sebum – oily
white substance rich in
lipids
§ Released by
holocrine
secretion and
lubricates the hair

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 NAILS
• Thin plate, consisting of layers
of dead stratum corneum cells
that contain a very hard type of
keratin
• Nail body – visible part
• Nail root – part of the nail
covered by the skin
• Cuticle – stratum corneum that
extends onto the nail body
• Nail root extends distally from
the nail matrix
• Nail bed – located distal to the
nail matrix
• Nail matrix and bed are
epithelial tissue with a stratum
basale that gives rise to the
cells that form the nail
• Lunula – small part of the nail
matrix; can be seen through he
nail body as a whitish,
crescent-shaped area at the
base of the nail
PHYSIOLOGY OF THE
INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM
PROTECTION
• Intact skin plays an important
role in reducing water loss
because its lipids act as a
barrier to the diffusion of water
from the deeper tissues of the
body to the surface o the
epidermis
• Skin acts as a barrier that
prevent microorganisms and
other foreign substances from
entering the body. Secretions
from skin glands also produce
an environment unsuitable for
some microorganisms
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• Stratified squamous epithelium TEMPERATURE REGULATION
of the skin protects underlying • Body temperature =. 37°C
structures against abrasion (98.6°F)
• Melanin absorbs ultraviolet • Regulation of body
light and protects underlying temperature is important
structures from its damaging because the rate of chemical
effects reactions within the body can
• Hair provides protection in be increased or decreased by
several ways: hair on the head changes in body tempt.
acts as a heat insulator, • Exercise, fever, and an
eyebrow keeps sweat out of the increase in environmental
eye, eyelashes protect the tempt. raises body tempt.
eyes from foreign objects, hair • Homeostasis = body must rid
in the nose and ears prevents itself of excess heat
the entry of dust and other
materials • If body tempt begins to drop
below normal, heat can be
• Nails protect the ends of the conserved by the constriction
fingers and toes from damage of dermal blood vessels, which
and can be used in defense reduces blood flow to the skin
SENSATION • Skin temperature drop below
about 15°C, dermal blood
• Many sensory receptors are vessels dilate
associated with the skin
• Receptors in the epidermis and
dermis can detect pain, heat,
cold, and pressure
• Sensory receptors around the
hair follicle can detect the
movement of a hair

VITAMIN D PRODUCTION
• When skin is exposed to
ultraviolet light, a precursor
molecule of vitamin D is formed
• Precursor is carried by the
blood to the liver, then to the
kidneys, where it is modified
further to form active vitamin D
• Exposed to enough ultraviolet
light, humans produce all the
vitamin D it needs

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 EXCRETION
• Integumentary system plays a
minor role in excretion
• Removal of waste products
from the body
• Sweat contains small amounts
of waste products, such as
urea, uric acid, and ammonia
• Sweat glands do not play a
significant role in the excretion
of waste products
INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM AS A
DIAGNOSTIC AID
• Observes easily and often
reflects events occurring in
other part of the body
• Cyanosis – bluish color to the
skin caused by decreased
blood O2 content
o Indication of impaired
circulatory or respiratory
function
• Jaundice – yellowish skin color
o Liver is damaged by a
diseases such as viral
hepatitis
• Rashes and lesion in the skin
can be symptoms of problems
elsewhere in the body
• Condition of the skin, hair, and
nails is affected by nutritional
status
• Hair concentrates many
substances that can be
detected by lab analysis
BURNS
• Burn – injury to a tissue caused
by heat, cold, friction,
chemicals, electricity, or
radiation
• Classified according to their
depth
• Partial-thickness burns – part
of the stratum basale remains
viable, regeneration of the
epidermis occurs from within
the burn area, as well as from
the edges of the burn
o Divided into first- and
second-degree burns
• First-degree burns – only the
epidermis and are red and
painful
o Slight edema, or
swelling, may be present
o Caused by sunburn or
brief exposure to very
hot or very cold objects
o Heal without scarring in
about a week
• Second-degree burns –
damages both the epidermis
and the dermis
o If dermal damage is
minimal – redness, pain,
edema, and blisters
§ Healing = 2 weeks,
no scarring results
o If the burn goes deep
into the dermis – wound
appears red, tan, or
white
§ Heal = take
several months
§ Might scar
o Epidermis, including the
stratum basale where
stem cells are found, is
damaged
• Full-thickness burns/third-
degree burns – epidermis and
dermis are completely
destroyed
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o Recovery occurs from
the edges of the burn
wound
o Surrounded by areas of
first- and second-degree
burns
o Painless because
sensory receptors in the
epidermis and dermis
have been destroyed
o Appear white, tan,
brown, black, or deep
cherry red
o Take a long time to heal
and form scar tissue with
disfiguring and
debilitating wound
contracture
o Skin grafts are often
performed

SKIN CANCER
• Most common type of cancer
• Basal cell carcinoma – most
frequent type; begins with cells
in the stratum basale and
extends into the dermis to
produce an open ulcer
o Surgical removal or
radiation therapy

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 lesion or as a deeply
pigmented nodule
o Often fatal

• Squamous cell carcinoma –

develops from cells
immediately superficial to the
stratum basale • Limiting exposure to the sun
o Cells continue to divide and using sunscreen that block
as they produce keratin ultraviolet light can reduce the
o Nodular, keratinized likelihood of developing skin
tumor confined to the cancer
epidermis
• Classification of UV
o If untreated, tumor can wavelength
invade the dermis,
metastasize, and cause
o UVA – longer
wavelength
death
§ Tanning of the
skin
§ Development of
malignant
melanoma
o UVB – causes most
burning of the skin
§ Development of
basal cell and
squamous cell
carcinomas

• Malignant melanoma – rare

form of skin cancer that arises
from melanocytes, usually in a
preexisting mole
o Mole – aggregation of
melanocytes
o Melanoma can appear as
a large, flat, spreading
• Use sunscreens that block UVA
and UVB
EFFECTS OF AGAING ON THE
INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM
• Body ages, skin is more easily
damaged because the
epidermis thins and the amount

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 of collagen in the dermis
decreases
• Skin begins to sag and wrinkle
because of a decrease in the
number of elastic fibers in the
dermis and loss of adipose
tissue from the subcutaneous
tissue
• Number of melanocytes
decreases, some cases
increase to produce age spots
• Freckles – caused by increased
melanin production
• Gray and white hair also results
due to a decrease in or lack of
melanin production
• Skin exposed to sunlight shows
sign of aging more rapidly

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