The Integumentary System

Key facts about the integumentary system

Table quiz

Skin Functions: chemical and mechanical barrier, biosynthesis, control of body

temperature, sensory
Layers: Epidermis
(Stratum Basale, Spinosum, Granulosum, Lucidum, Corneum) and dermis
(papillary, reticular)
Mnemonic: British and Spanish Grannies Love Cornflakes

Hair Types: vellus and terminal

Structure: Follicle and bulb (shaft, inner root sheath, outer root sheath, glassy
membrane)

Nails Nail plate, nail folds, nail matrix, nail bed, hyponychium

Secretory glands Sweat glands: eccrine (most numerous, covering almost the entire body) and
apocrine (only in the axilla and genitalia)
Sebaceous glands: Cover the entire body and secrete sebum (oily and fatty)

Subcutaneous tissue Adipose tissue that increases skin mobility, insulates the body, and acts as
(hypodermis) a shock absorber

Blood supply Direct cutaneous: From the main arterial trunks

Musculocutaneous: From intramuscular vasculature after piercing muscles and
spreading in the hypodermis
Fasciocutaneous: From perforating branches located deep to the deep fascia

Innervation Pacinian corpuscles, Meissner corpuscles, specific stimuli receptors

The integumentary system is composed of the following parts:

1.) Skin
2.) Skin appendages
a.) Hair
b.) Nails
c.) Sweat glands
d.) Sebaceous glands
3.) Subcutaneous tissue and deep fascia
4.) Mucotaneous junctions
5.) Breasts

The skin is the largest component of this system. It is an extensive sensory organ which forms an outer
protective coat around the entire external surface of the body. It is the largest organ of the human body,
covering an area of 2 square meters. It has a thickness between 1.5 and 5 mm, depending on location.

Functions:

The skin has a significant capacity for renewal and crucial roles for the normal functioning of the human
body. It is an effective barrier against potential pathogens and protects against mechanical, chemical,
thermal and ultraviolet radiation damage (through melanin). The skin also takes part in a variety of
biochemical synthetic processes, such as vitamin D productions under the influence of ultraviolet
radiation, but also the productions of cytokines and growth factors.

The skin also has a major role in controlling body temperature by increasing or decreasing the blood flow
through the cutaneous circulation, which in turn affects the magnitude of heat loss. Sweating also assists
this process. The skin is also a major sensory organ, containing a large number of nerve terminals for
touch, temperature, pain and other stimuli. The skin greatly assists locomotion and manipulation due to
its good frictional properties given by its texture and elasticity.

The skin is anatomically organized as follows, from superficial to deeper layers:

Epidermis:

1.) Stratum Basale

2.) Stratum Spinosum
3.) Stratum Granulosum
4.) Stratum Lucidum
5.) Stratum Corneum

Dermis:

1.) Papillary Dermis

2.) Reticular Dermis

Skin appendages:

Hairs:

Hairs are filamentous cornified structures which grow out of the skin and cover most of the body
surface. Several areas of the body like the palms, soles, and flexor surfaces of the digits and specific part
of the reproductive organs are devoid of hairs. Hairs are important in sensing, thermoregulation and
protection against injury and solar radiation.

Two major types of hairs:

1.) Vellus hairs- do not project beyond their follicles in some of the areas, however they are short and
narrow and cover most of the surface of the body. (peach fuzz)
2.) Terminal hairs- longer and thicker, more heavily pigmented. They are mostly observed on males but
also in the axillary and pubic regions of both sexes.

The hair follicle is the sac containing the hair, out of which it grows. It is actually a downgrowth of the
dermis and contiguous with the epithelium. The hair follicles go through a cyclic activity of hair growth
and loss.

The hair bulb is the lowest expanded extremity of the hair follicle that fits like a cap over the dermal hair
papilla, enclosing it. The dermal hair papilla is a cluster of mesenchymal cells giving rise to several
capillaries. The hair bulb generates the hair and its inner root sheath.

The bulb consists of two parts:

1.) Germinal Matrix- consists of pluripotent keratinocytes, which gives rise to the upper bulb. As the
cells from the matrix migrate apically and differentiate further, they form several structures and
layers:
1.) Hair shaft
a.) Medulla
b.) Cortex
c.) Cuticle
2.) Inner root sheath
a.) Cuticle
b.) Huxley’s Layer
c.) Henle’s Layer
3.) Outer rooth sheath
4.) Glassy membrane ( basement membrane of hair follicle.)

The growth, rest and shedding of hair follicles occurs in cyclical stages of variable duration.
During the growing (anagen) phase, the follicles produce an entire hair shaft from the
dividing cells of the hair bulb.
 During the shedding (catagen) phase, the epithelial cells in the hair bulb and the outer root
sheath die in a regulated fashion (apoptosis). Differentiation of the hair shaft also stops, and
the bottom of it becomes sealed into a structure called the club.

During the resting (telogen) phase, the hair follicles lie dormant. No differentiation or
apoptosis happens.

Nails:

Nails are homologous to the stratum corneum of the epidermis and contain a variety of
minerals, such as calcium. They consist of compacted and layered keratin-filled squames. The
arrangement and coheasion of the squames are responsible for the hardness of the nails.
The nails consist of:
1.) Nail plate
2.) Nail folds
3.) Nail folds
4.) Nail bed
5.) Hypnonychium

The nail plate is a rectangular and convex structure embedded within the nail folds. It originates
from the nail matrices, found at the base of the nails. The nail plate is completely free distally to the
onychodermal band (distal margin of the nail bed).

Nail folds are the borders of the nail plate, located laterally and proximally, which are continuous around
the nail place. The cuticle is an extension of the proximal nail fold located on the dorsal aspect of the nail
plate, overlying the root of the nail.

The nail matrix is the structure out of which the nail plate grows. Cornified cells from the matrix are
gradually extruded to form the nail plate.

The nail bed extends between the lunula (crescent shaped, white area of the nail plate) The distal
margin of the nail bed is called the onychodermal band. The nail bed consists of two layers: the dermis
and epidermis. The dermis is directly attached to the periosteum of the distal phalanx and it is richly
vascularized.
Sweat glands:

Sweat glands are small, tubular structures located in the skin. They are exocrine glands, meaning they
secrete substances on the epithelial surface via ducts. The glands produce sweat, which is important for
thermoregulation. There are two types of sweat glands, eccrine and apocrine and each one produces a
different type of sweat.
Ecrrine sweat glands:

The majority of sweat glands are eccrine. They are long, unbranched, tubular structures with a highly
coiled secretory portion situated deep in the dermis. A narrower duct emerges from the gland and it
opens via a pore on the skin surface.

Apocrine sweat glands:

These are large glands specifically located in the axillare, perianal region, nipples, periumbilical region,
prepuce, scrotum, mons pubis, labia minora, nail bed, penis and clitoris.

Similar to eccrine glands, apocrine glands also consist of a secretory coil. However, the duct emerging
from the gland opens inside the pilary canal above the duct of the sebaceous gland or directly on the
surface of the skin.

Sebaceous glands

Sebaceous glands are small saccular structures located in the dermis, which cover most of the body.
They consist of a cluster of secretory acini, which is continued by a duct which opens into the dermal
pilary canal of the hair follicle. The ducts can also open directly on the surface of the skin , as seen on the
lips and buccal mucosa. Sebaceous glands secrete sebum, which is an oily and fatty secretion. Sebum is
crucial in the epidermal barrier and the skins immune system.
Subcutaneous Tissue:

The subcutaneous tissue, also called the hypodermis, is a layer of adipose tissue attached to the dermis.
It increases the mobility the skin, thermally insulates and acts as a shock absorber and is a source of
energy.

The hypodermis is filled with subcutaneous nerves, vessels and lymphatics. It specifically contains the
platysma muscle in the head and neck.

Mucocutaneous Junctions:

These are regions of the body where there is a transition from mucosa to skin. At such regions,
epithelium transitions to epidermis, lamina propria changes to dermis and smooth muscle becomes
skeletal muscle. They occur at orifices in areas like the lips, nostrils, conjunctivae, urethra, vagina,
foreskin and anus.

Breasts

The breasts, also known as the mammary glands, are prominent, superficial structures on the anterior
thoracis wall. They are located in the subcutaneous tissue overlying the pectoralis major and minor
muscles.