CHAPTER 6: INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM

➔ Components of the Integumentary System

● Skin
○ Largest body organ
○ Average adult has about 21.5 square feet of skin
○ Protects the body from injury
○ Protects the body from the intrusion of harmful microorganism
○ Protects the body from the ultraviolet rays of the sun
○ Helps to maintain the proper internal temperature of the body
○ Serves as a site for excretion of waste through perspiration
○ Serves as an important sensory organ
○ Varies in thickness depending on the part of the body it is covering
○ Three main layers of the skin
1. Epidermis
● Outer layer of the skin
● 2 main sublayers
○ Stratum corneum (top sublayer) consists of a flat layer of
dead cells arranged in parallel rows
○ Statum germinativum (bottom sublayer) where new cells
are produced
● Does not contain blood vessels
● Specialzied cells in the epidermis produce a pigment called
melanin which helps determin skin and hair colour, as well as
filters out UV rays
● Calluses mean thicker skin in that area
2. Dermis
● Contains connective tissue that holds many capillaries, lymph
cells, nerve endings, sebaceus and sweat glands, and hair follicles
● These nourish the epidermis and serve as touch receptors
3. Subcutaenous
● Layer between the dermis and the body’s inner organs
● Consists of fatty tissue and some layers of fibrous tissue
● Blood vessels and nerves lay within its layers
● The layer of fatty tissue helps protect organs and regulate
temperature
● Hair
○ Grows out the epidermis and covers various parts of the body
○ Serves to cushion and protect the area it covers
○ Has 2 parts
■ Shaft - protrudes from the skin
■ Root - lies beneath the surface of the skin
○ Hair grows up from the root of the hair follicle
○ Shape of the follicle determines the shape of the hair (curly, straight, etc.)
 ○ Arrector pilli muscles surround the hair follicle and make it “stand on end” when
you get goosebumps
● Nails
○ Plates made of hard keratin that cover the dorsal surface of the distal bone of
the fingers and toes
○ Serve as a protective covering
○ Help in the grasping of objects
○ Allow us to scratch
● Sweat Glands
○ Located almost everywhere on the surface of the body
○ Provides a means for the body to cool itself
○ Secrete outwards towards the surface of the body through ducts called exorcine
glands
○ Excretion of sweat is called diaphoresis
○ Secretions exit the body through pores or tiny openings in the skin surface
○ Apocrine is the thicker sweat caused by being anxious or nervous during which
there is a bacteria breakdown and body odur is produced
● Sebaceuous Glands
○ Located in the dermis
○ Secrete an oily substance called sebum which is found at the base of the hair
follicles
○ Serves to lubricate and protect the skin
○ Forms a skin barrier against bacteria and fungi, and softens the surface of the
skin