INTEGUMENTARY

1. It has been several weeks since Tom has competed in a

tennis
match. After the match, he discovers that a blister has formed
beneath an old callus on his foot and the callus has fallen
off. When he examines the callus, it appears yellow. Can you
explain why?

- In lipids, carotene, a yellow color from consumed plants,

accumulates. There are more layers of cells in the stratum
corneum of a callus than other, non-calloused areas of the
skin and lipids cover the cells of each layer. The carotene in
the lipids makes it appear yellow to the callus.

2. Pulling on hair can be quite painful, but cutting hair is

not painful. Explain.

- The hair follicle is surrounded, but not the hair, by nerve

endings that can sense hair movement and pulling. The hair is
dead and the epithelium is keratinized, so it is not difficult
to cut the hair.

3. Harry, a light-skinned man, jogs on a cool day. What color

would
you expect his skin to be (a) after going outside and just
before
starting to run, (b) during the run, and (c) 5 minutes after
the run?

- On colder days, the body can shunt blood into its central
organs to maintain heat. Almost bloodless, the skin's true
color will show. In a cold day outdoors, the skin can become
pale due to the shunting of the blood to the heart of the
body. The body generates heat during exercise, meaning that
the skin can "pink up" as the body heats up. The body will
return to normal five minutes after the run and carry on its
normal coloring.