THE INTEGUMENT AND ITS

DERIVATIVES
EPIDERMIS AND ITS DERIVATIVES
The epidermis, derived from somatic ectoderm, is the exterior-most covering of the
chordate body. It provides protection against the invasion of microorganisms, provides
flexibility in motion, and seals in moisture. As will be seen, it also gives rise to a variety of
differentiated structures such as feathers, hair, horns, claws, nails and glands. Begin by
looking at a cross-section of Amphioxus (Branchiostoma) integument. Amphioxus possesses
the simplest possible form of epidermis - a single layer of columnar epithelium covered by a
thin film of cuticle.

All true vertebrates, however, have developed a multi-layered epithelium. Note the simple,
multicellular, epithelium of the lamprey, which has no scales. Fishes and amphibians have a
mucus layer for bacterial and mechanical protection and to prevent drying on land. See frog
skin.Terrestrial vertebrates have replaced the cuticle with keratin. See the snake skin.

Epidermal Derivatives of the Integument

Keratin Structures
New epidermal cells are formed continuously in the lower layers of the epidermis. In
terrestrial vertebrates, new epidermal cells push more superficial ones to the stratum
corneum, the outer-most epithelial layer. In the process of self-destruction, these exterior
epidermal cells accumulate protein products called keratin. Keratinized or cornified skin
serves to prevent water escape and to protect against friction and direct mechanical
stimulation (e.g. calluses in humans). The production of all of the following structures
involves keratinization:

Epidermal Scales: a continuous layer of repetitious thickenings of the stratum

corneum; you cannot dissect an individual epidermal scale out of the skin! These scales may
be shed entirely (moulting) or in small flakes. Examine preserved specimen of snake skin
and dried specimens of bird legs and feet.
Claws and Talons: curved, laterally compressed keratinized projections from the tips
of digits. See dried specimen of cat claws and bird talons.
What are the possible functions of claws and talons?

Hooves: enlarged keratinized plates found on the ends of ungulate digits. Examine the
hooves of pig and horse.
Nails: keratinized epithelial cells are produced at the nail base and push the existing nail
forward. They provide protection from mechanical injury and stabilize skin for better
grasping. Found only in primates.

Horns: a tough, cornified layer of the integument covers horns. Their core, however, is
bone, which is of dermal origin. Horns are found in bovines (cattle, antelope, sheep, goats,
bison, wildebeest). They are retained year-round and grow throughout the animal’s lifetime.

Baleen: found in some whales, baleen is a series of keratinized plates that arise from oral
epithelium. These sheets hang from the palate along its length and act as a sieve.

Of what use would the sieve-like action of these baleen plates be?

Beaks: epidermal structures, jaws are covered by keratinized sheaths in birds and turtles.
Feathers: are believed to have evolved from reptilian scales. Columns of epidermal cells
project into the skin initially to form an invagination called the feather follicle. Later growth
results in a projection out of the skin of a keratinized epidermal sheath with an inner feather
shaft. These columns then separate and develop into barbs. Feather growth is initiated by
dermal papillae, which die in the grown feather to form feather pulp. Examine the dried
specimens. Note the quill (calamus), which attaches to the body and extends as a rachis.
From the rachis project many veins with barbs and barbules to hold them together.

Hair: just as in feathers, there is an initial ingrowth of epidermal cells to form the hair
follicle, followed by an outward growth of keratinized cells to form the hair shaft. Dermal
papillae cells of the outer edge die and form the core substance of hair follicles. Note the
similarities between hair and feathers both in development and in general anatomy. They
both possess dermal papillae, shafts, an inner pulp and columns of specialized keratinized
cells. Hair is characteristic of mammals.

Glands
Specialized to secrete specific products (oil, sweat, milk, etc.), these structures are derived
by an infolding of the epidermis. In many cases they retain a connection to the stratum
corneum whereby their secretions can be released at the skin surface.
What do you think is responsible for the slimy feeling of fish skin?
Glands
Specialized to secrete specific products (oil, sweat, milk, etc.), these structures are derived
by an infolding of the epidermis. In many cases they retain a connection to the stratum
corneum whereby their secretions can be released at the skin surface.
What do you think is responsible for the slimy feeling of fish skin?

THE DERMIS AND ITS DERIVATIVES

The dermis is generally much thicker than the epidermis and lies more deeply. It is made of
a fibrous mass of connective tissue (collagen) and is of mesodermal origin. It may
directly produce dermal (membrane) bone. The dermis is important in defence against
injury and in the maintenance of body heat. Deeper regions of the dermis often contain
fatty deposits, smooth muscle, blood vessels and nerves. Chromatophore cells are
sometimes epidermal, but usually dermal in origin. They secrete melanin, which can be
passed to the stratum corneum of skin and to hair shafts to produce colour and block
harmful sunlight.

Dermal Bone

Once present in some extinct fish - Ostracoderms had a complete head shield,
while Placoderms had a broken head shield and body armour. Now dermal bone is present
in turtle dermal bone, antlers, and in the dermal armour of armadillo. In antlers the velvet
is epidermal in origin and shapes and provides blood to the dermal bone. Once grown, the
velvet is shed and only the bone remains. Antlers are found in deer, elk, moose and their
relatives, often only in males. They are shed annually.
In most modern vertebrates, dermal bone (membrane bone) is formed from embryonic
mesenchyme by intramembranous ossification, and contributes to the skull and skeleton,
rather than being manifested externally. An exception is teeth, which are partly derived
from dermal bone.

TEETH

Teeth are composed of three main parts. Enamel, the hardest substance in the body,
covers the tooth surface. It is epidermal in origin. Ganoin is a form of enamel. Dentin is
similar to bone in structure but is harder. It is located beneath the enamel and forms the
walls of the third component of teeth, the pulp cavity. These are of dermal
origin. Cosmine is a form of dentin. Dermal bone called cementum is also present in
mammalian teeth.

Teeth are used to catch and hold prey, to crush hard shells and, in some higher vertebrates,
to carry out mechanical digestion of food in the mouth.

Examine the shark teeth on demonstration. Note that mollusk-eating sharks have blunt
teeth, while others have a cutting edge. Despite such variations, the scales formed on
dogfish skin and the teeth found in its mouth are both made of enamel, dentin and bone
with a pulp core, i.e. shark teeth are modified placoid scales.
Teeth of higher vertebrates are thought to have evolved from bony dermal scales similar to
dogfish placoid scales. They have a complex embryonic origin involving both the epidermis
and the dermis. Interestingly, their development bears some resemblance to that of hair
and feathers. Mesenchyme cells collect in the dermis to form dermal papillae, which are
instrumental in the production of dentin and go on to form the pulp of the tooth. Enamel is
produced by the epidermis. The tooth in mammals is held in place by cement, which is a
non-vascular form of bone.

TOOTH CHARACTERIZATION

Tooth Position (where are they found?)

1) Fishes
Teeth, or dermal structures, which are tooth-like, may be found wherever ectoderm occurs
in the mouth area. For this reason teeth can occur outside the jaws as in the pharyngeal
teeth on the bony elements of the branchial bars, or outside the buccal cavity as teeth in
the sawfish. See Amia, pike and sawfish.

2) Amphibians
 Teeth occur mainly on the jawbones, with some occurrence on the palate. Examine the
skulls of frog (Anurans) and the salamander Necturus (Urodeles) on demonstration.

3) Birds
A few birds have teeth on their beaks, but teeth are absent in most birds.

5) Mammals
Teeth occur only on the jawbones, i.e. on the dentary, premaxilla and maxilla.

Tooth Insertion (how they are attached).

There are three methods of tooth insertion. Examine the demonstration material and
identify the following methods of insertion:

1. 1)Acrodont (acro=end)

The teeth are fused by their bases to the outer surface of the jaw. This condition occurs in
most Teleosts (bony fish) and can be also seen in the sharks. The teeth are not firmly
rooted and are easily lost and replaced. Teeth that are continually replaced are
called polyphyodont (poly=many).

2. )Pleurodont (pleur=side)
 The teeth are fused on one side to the inner surface of the jaw. This occurs in the
salamander, Necturus, frogs, and in the lizards. Most birds have no teeth but mergansers,
Peking duck and a few others have pleurodont teeth. Pleurodont teeth are usually
polyphyodont.

3. 3)Thecodont (theca=cup)

The teeth are placed on the crown of the jaw in a socket. A tooth may have a single root, as
in the alligators, or several roots, as in the molars of mammals.

C) Tooth Differentiation (how they differ)

The shape of the teeth in the fishes, amphibia and reptiles is relatively constant in any one
group. Functional adaptations occur in size, and in specialization such as poison ducts in the
fangs of snakes. Study the demonstration material in the above groups and notice the
similarity in shape - called the Isodont or Homodont (iso/homo = equal) condition.
Dentition in mammals is generally Heterodont (hetero=different). The teeth are modified
in shape and size to serve specialized functions. Study this modification in the wolf skull.
Notice incisors (cutting), canines (piercing), premolars (grinding) and carnassials
(shearing), and molars (crushing).
Examine the general demonstration of mammalian teeth. Notice the adaptations are
correlated with food habits. Compare the insectivores, herbivores,
carnivores and omnivores.
Examine the shrew and mole as examples of insectivores, which eat insects and other
small invertebrates. Most of the teeth are generalized and little differentiation has taken
place.

Examine upper and lower jaws of the herbivores, which feed on grasses and other
vegetation. Note the differences, a large gap, the diastema (=internal) and often a horny
upper pad - check the grazers (horse, deer, ox), and the gnawers (rabbit, beaver).

In the carnivores, which feed mainly on herbivores, note the specialized long and sharp
canine teeth for biting and piercing, and the last premolar of upper jaw and first molar of
lower jaw, which have been modified as carnassials used for cutting. Within the group
notice variations of teeth used for cutting, piercing, incising and gripping.
Nails: keratinized epithelial cells are produced at the nail base and push the existing nail
forward. They provide protection from mechanical injury and stabilize skin for better
grasping. Found only in primates.
Horns: a tough, cornified layer of the integument covers horns. Their core, however, is
bone, which is of dermal origin. Horns are found in bovines (cattle, antelope, sheep, goats,
bison, wildebeest). They are retained year-round and grow throughout the animal’s lifetime.

Baleen: found in some whales, baleen is a series of keratinized plates that arise from oral
epithelium. These sheets hang from the palate along its length and act as a sieve. See the
display.

Of what use would the sieve-like action of these baleen plates be?

Beaks: epidermal structures, jaws are covered by keratinized sheaths in birds and turtles.

Feathers: are believed to have evolved from reptilian scales. Columns of epidermal cells
project into the skin initially to form an invagination called the feather follicle. Later growth
results in a projection out of the skin of a keratinized epidermal sheath with an inner feather
shaft. These columns then separate and develop into barbs. Feather growth is initiated by
dermal papillae, which die in the grown feather to form feather pulp. Examine the dried
specimens. Note the quill (calamus), which attaches to the body and extends as a rachis.
From the rachis project many veins with barbs and barbules to hold them together.

Hair: just as in feathers, there is an initial ingrowth of epidermal cells to form the hair
follicle, followed by an outward growth of keratinized cells to form the hair shaft. Dermal
papillae cells of the outer edge die and form the core substance of hair follicles. Note the
similarities between hair and feathers both in development and in general anatomy. They
both possess dermal papillae, shafts, an inner pulp and columns of specialized keratinized
cells. Hair is characteristic of mammals.

Which is the living layer of the epidermis in the human scalp?

Which is the non-living layer of the epidermis?

What is the primary function of each epidermal layer?

Glands
Specialized to secrete specific products (oil, sweat, milk, etc.), these structures are derived
by an infolding of the epidermis. In many cases they retain a connection to the stratum
corneum whereby their secretions can be released at the skin surface.
What do you think is responsible for the slimy feeling of fish skin?

Sketch and label the glands of the frog as seen in the frog integument slide (cross-section).
Sketch and label the human scalp cross-section with oil (sebaceous) and sweat glands.

THE DERMIS AND ITS DERIVATIVES

The dermis is generally much thicker than the epidermis and lies more deeply. It is made of
a fibrous mass of connective tissue (collagen) and is of mesodermal origin. It may
directly produce dermal (membrane) bone. The dermis is important in defence against
injury and in the maintenance of body heat. Deeper regions of the dermis often contain
fatty deposits, smooth muscle, blood vessels and nerves. Chromatophore cells are
sometimes epidermal, but usually dermal in origin. They secrete melanin, which can be
passed to the stratum corneum of skin and to hair shafts to produce colour and block
harmful sunlight.

Dermal Bone

Once present in some extinct fish - Ostracoderms had a complete head shield,
while Placoderms had a broken head shield and body armour. Now dermal bone is present
in turtle dermal bone, antlers, and in the dermal armour of armadillo. In antlers the velvet
is epidermal in origin and shapes and provides blood to the dermal bone. Once grown, the
velvet is shed and only the bone remains. Antlers are found in deer, elk, moose and their
relatives, often only in males. They are shed annually.
In most modern vertebrates, dermal bone (membrane bone) is formed from embryonic
mesenchyme by intramembranous ossification, and contributes to the skull and skeleton,
rather than being manifested externally. An exception is teeth, which are partly derived
from dermal bone.
Teeth of higher vertebrates are thought to have evolved from bony dermal scales similar to
dogfish placoid scales. They have a complex embryonic origin involving both the epidermis
and the dermis. Interestingly, their development bears some resemblance to that of hair
and feathers. Mesenchyme cells collect in the dermis to form dermal papillae, which are
instrumental in the production of dentin and go on to form the pulp of the tooth. Enamel is
produced by the epidermis. The tooth in mammals is held in place by cement, which is a
non-vascular form of bone.

To compare the various types of dermal scales with teeth, fill in the chart in your
lab manual indicating the presence (+) or absence (-) of the indicated substances.

TOOTH CHARACTERIZATION

Tooth Position (where are they found?)

1) Fishes
Teeth, or dermal structures, which are tooth-like, may be found wherever ectoderm occurs
in the mouth area. For this reason teeth can occur outside the jaws as in the pharyngeal
teeth on the bony elements of the branchial bars, or outside the buccal cavity as teeth in
the sawfish. See Amia, pike and sawfish.

How does this relate to deuterostome development in vertebrates (recall the

development of the mouth and anus)?

2) Amphibians
Teeth occur mainly on the jawbones, with some occurrence on the palate. Examine the
skulls of frog (Anurans) and the salamander Necturus (Urodeles) on demonstration.

3) Reptiles
A few reptiles still have teeth on their palate to hold their prey, but most teeth are on the
jawbones.

4) Birds
A few birds have teeth on their beaks, but teeth are absent in most birds.

5) Mammals
Teeth occur only on the jawbones, i.e. on the dentary, premaxilla and maxilla.

What general trend in tooth location do you observe across the vertebrate phyla?

Tooth Insertion (how they are attached).

There are three methods of tooth insertion. Examine the demonstration material and
identify the following methods of insertion:
1. 1)Acrodont (acro=end)

The teeth are fused by their bases to the outer surface of the jaw. This condition occurs in
most Teleosts (bony fish) and can be also seen in the sharks. The teeth are not firmly
rooted and are easily lost and replaced. Teeth that are continually replaced are
called polyphyodont (poly=many).

2. 2)Pleurodont (pleur=side)

The teeth are fused on one side to the inner surface of the jaw. This occurs in the
salamander, Necturus, frogs, and in the lizards. Most birds have no teeth but mergansers,
Peking duck and a few others have pleurodont teeth. Pleurodont teeth are usually
polyphyodont.

What are reasons for the loss of teeth in most birds?

How do they compensate for this loss?

3. 3)Thecodont (theca=cup)

The teeth are placed on the crown of the jaw in a socket. A tooth may have a single root, as
in the alligators, or several roots, as in the molars of mammals.
What general trend in tooth insertion do you observe across the vertebrate phyla?

Most thecodont vertebrates replace their teeth only once in their lifetime. Describe
some possible reasons for this.

What advantage(s) do acrodonts have over pleurodonts and thecodonts? What

disadvantage(s)?

C) Tooth Differentiation (how they differ)

The shape of the teeth in the fishes, amphibia and reptiles is relatively constant in any one
group. Functional adaptations occur in size, and in specialization such as poison ducts in the
fangs of snakes. Study the demonstration material in the above groups and notice the
similarity in shape - called the Isodont or Homodont (iso/homo = equal) condition.
Dentition in mammals is generally Heterodont (hetero=different). The teeth are modified
in shape and size to serve specialized functions. Study this modification in the wolf skull.
Notice incisors (cutting), canines (piercing), premolars (grinding) and carnassials
(shearing), and molars (crushing).
Examine the general demonstration of mammalian teeth. Notice the adaptations are
correlated with food habits. Compare the insectivores, herbivores,
carnivores and omnivores.
Examine the shrew and mole as examples of insectivores, which eat insects and other
small invertebrates. Most of the teeth are generalized and little differentiation has taken
place.
Why would insectivores need such long and sharp incisors?

Examine upper and lower jaws of the herbivores, which feed on grasses and other
vegetation. Note the differences, a large gap, the diastema (=internal) and often a horny
upper pad - check the grazers (horse, deer, ox), and the gnawers (rabbit, beaver).

Why do herbivores have such long jaws formed by the diastema?

Why are the molars and pre-molars so corrugated (alternating ridges and furrows)
in herbivores?
In the carnivores, which feed mainly on herbivores, note the specialized long and sharp
canine teeth for biting and piercing, and the last premolar of upper jaw and first molar of
lower jaw, which have been modified as carnassials used for cutting. Within the group
notice variations of teeth used for cutting, piercing, incising and gripping.
How do you think the carnassials work? (Hint: look at which surfaces touch each
other)

Examine the omnivore dentition (pigs, bears, humans) and compare with carnivores,
herbivores and insectivores.

Bears are omnivores, eating whatever is available. Note, however, that their
overall tooth differentiation resembles that of carnivores. There is a discrepancy
here. Why do you think this is so?