‫بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم‬

Sudan University of Science and Technology

Master program
Advanced Physiological Engineering
Presentation about:

The Human Skin

Presented by:
Sami Abdelmageed Abdelmaroof
Safa
Alsadig Abdallah Osman
Hosam Hatim Osman
Supervisor:
Dr. Mohamed Basheer
 The Skin
Introduction:
• The Skin has several important functions in:
- Homoeostatic regulatory mechanisms.
- Protective role.
-Regulation of body temperature.
 By adjusting the blood flow in the skin, the body can adjust the
amount of heat lost to the environment.
Anatomical Consideration:
•The Skin is one of the largest organs of the body .
• In a 70 Kg man, its total weight is about 4 Kg and its surface area about
1.8 m2.
 The Skin has two main layers:
1.A superficial layer, the Epidermis.
I. The Horny layer: Which cosist of dead cornified cells. It estimated
that the horny layer is entirely shed every 3 weeks.
II. Granular cell layer: As new cells are formed, they moved towards
the surface and form the horny layer.
III. Keratinocytes layer: Which are responsible for the continuous
regeneration of the more superficial layers.
IV. Basal layer: It is the deepest layer.
2. A deep layer, the Dermis:
• Consist of collagen fibres, which give the skin its elasticity.
 The skin has several appendages:
• The hair follicles, nails, sweet glands and sebaceous glands.
• There are two types of sweat glands:
a. The eccrine glands:
- Responsible for sweating associated with the regulation of body
temperature.
- They are present all over the body.
- The secretory tubules of these glands are coiled up and lie deep in
the dermis.
- Their ducts open on the surface of the skin.
- They are supplied by sympathetic fibres, which stimulate sweating
by releasing acetylcholine.
b. The apocrine glands:
- They are only found in the part of the body with hair follicles.
- Their ducts open into the hair sheath.
- They are become active after puberty.
Blood Supply of the skin
• The skin has a rich supply of the blood – vessels.
•The amounts of blood which flow in various parts of the skin may vary
greatly, e.g the face and the scalp have one of the richest supplies.
• The skin is supplied by small arteries which penetrate from the
subcutaneous tissues.
• No blood-vesssels penetrate into the epidermis, which gets its
nutrients through the tissue fluid.
• The constriction or dilation of the arterioles determines the amount of
blood flow in the skin.
• The lymphatic drainage of the skin takes place via rich lymphatic
capillaries in the dermis.
• These start in the tips of the papillae and collect to form larger vessels.
• Minor or temporary blockage of superficial lymph drainage duo to
infection or injury causes localized lymphatic oedema around the site of
infection or injury.
• More serious lymphatic blockage occurs in cases of cancer involving
lymph nodes.
 Functions of the skin
Protective role:
 The cornified layer of the skin is almost waterproof.
 The cornified layer also protects the underlying soft tissues from invasion by
microorganisms, by chemical substances and by rough objects.
 When horny layer is lost , as in cases of burns, evaporation takes place 10-20
times faster from the underlying tissues, which may lead to dehyderation in case
of large areas of skin are burnt.
 The skin also has chemical and immunological roles:
- The intact skin and mucous membranes have a number of secretions which are
known to be germicidal, e.g fatty acid from sebaceous glands and propionic acid
produced by normal skin flora.
- Langerhans cells which are found among the keratinocytes, They acts as a trap
for exogenous antigens which penetrate the cornified layer.
 The skin pigment, melanin, which is present in the basal layer, protects the skin
against injury by ultraviolet light.
- The grater the amount of pigment, the less the amount of light that penetrates
the epidermis.
- Exposure to the sun stimulates pigment formation and also leads to thickening
of the basal layer.
- Both of these effects decrease the penetration of ultraviolet light and
carcinogenic solar radiation ( wavelengths less than 320 nm).
Functions of the skin - continue
 Sensory Functions.
 Synthesis of vitamin D.
 Regulation of heat loss:
- The skin in hot weather, acts as a cooling organ for the body.
- At acofortable ambient temperature, which is usually between 23
and 30 C, the skin blood flow is about 20 ml/min/100g. This constitute
about 4% of the cardiac output.
- The regulation of heat loss through the skin is achieved in two wayes:
1. Regulation of blood flow in the skin by adjusting
sympathetic vasomotor tone to skin blood- vessels.
Functions of the skin - continue
- In hot environment :
Vasomotor tone Vasodilatation Blood Flow (up to 3 L/min, 60% of CO).
- So the cardiac output has to be increased to maintain adequate flow to other organs.
- In cold environment :
Vasomotor tone Blood Flow to the skin (which may fall to 2 mL/min/100g).

2. Sweating :
- When the skin temperature or the core temperature rises, reflex
sweating is stimulated , which leads to secretion of sweat on the
surface of the skin , leads temperature to drop to normal or below
normal levels.
- Failure of sweating under such conditions leads to a rapid rise of
body temperature , which may lead to coma and death (heatstroke) .
 sensory functions
By: safa
there are many nerve endings in the skin that serves the
functions of pain, touch, hot and cold sensation. There are
also specialized skin receptors for pressure, vibration,
stretching and movement of hair. The availability of these
sensations individual with information about the immediate
environment. Will consciously or reflex responses are,
depending on the nature of the stimulus. In this regard, it can
also be considered as these feelings to play a protective role.
Installation
Synthesized vitamin D

• Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) can be synthesized in the skin, this

indicates that the drocholesterol 7 Debbie (figure 1) This article can
also be viewed as a hormone synthesized by the skin, which travels in
the blood and acts to distant organs. As seen in a series of synthesis,
both the liver and kidney are necessary to convert the vitamin D3 into
its active form, 1,25 dihydrovycholecalciferol. Conversion of vitamin
D3, to the active form by the kidneys depends on parathyroid
hormone and calcium in the plasma levels of phosphate.
•
•
Regulate heat loss

• degree of skin temperature in normal conditions is several degrees

cooler than the core body temperature. It appears from these figures
that the skin and tissue subcutaneous, and shell temperature, and
varies with the degree of external or ambient temperature, while the
core temperature remains relatively constant, therefore, in hot
weather, the skin acts as a cooling for the body. Blood flow through
the skin loses heat to the skin, which, in turn, loses on the
environment. In a comfortable room temperature, which is usually
between 23 and 30 degrees C, the skin blood flow
•
Regulate heat loss

• About 20 m / min / 100 g. This accounts for about 4% of the cardiac output. This is achieved by heat loss
through the organization of in two ways:
• 1 regulate blood flow in the skin. This is achieved by adjusting sympathetic vasomotor tone to skin
bloodvessels. In hot environments the vasomotor tone is decreased and this leads to vasodilation and the
consequent increase in blood flow. In extremely hot environments, the blood Flow to the skin can increased
up to 3 liters per minute (or 60% of cardiac output). This means that the cardiac output has to be increased
to maintain an adequate flow to other organs. in cold environments vasomotor tone is increased and this
leads to decreasing the blood flow to the skin, which may fall to 2 m / min / 100 g in extremely cold climates.
• 2 sweating. When the skin temperature or the skin or core temperature rises, reflex sweating is simulated.
This leads to secretion of sweat on the skin surface. When the water evaporates, it takes its latent heat of
vaporization from the skin, and therefore the skin temperature drop to normal or below normal levels. This
is a vital mechanism for heat loss in extremely hot environments or when the body is producing large
amounts of heat (as in the exercise of the muscles, and work hard physical and fever). Failure of sweating
under such conditions leads to a rapid rise of body temperature, which may lead to coma and death
(heatstroke).
•
•
•
 Thermal balance
• the contributions of the skin to heat loss are under active
physiological control . However, the body can lose or gin heat from
the environment by passive heat transfer mechanisms i.e. radiation
,convection and conduction, and also by the evaporation of water
from the surface.
• homothermic, or warm-blooded animals (for example, Mammals and
birds) maintain their body temperature within a narrow range. This is
achieved by regulatory mechanisms which adjust the thermal
balance.
• Poikilothermic animals, such as fish, reptiles,are referred to as cold-
blooded as animals because they allow their body temperature to
change with that of the environment. Camels are homothermic but
they can allow their body temperature to change within a wider
range of other mammals, this mechanism helps to cool the camel
through night and thus lose water in the cooling during the day. It can
also allow the temperature to rise to higher levels than is compatible
with the functions of the body normal in other mammals. Depends
on the heat balance on the factors that cause the body to gain or
heat loss. presents the various mechanisms that contribute to the
thermal equilibrium can emessed when thermal equilibrium by the
following equation
• There is no change in body temperature, as is the case in animals
homothemic (see Table 1 for explanation)

• in diets or low body temperature, can balance thermal be either

positive (surplus heat gain) or negative (increase heat loss). Thermal
balance equation does not come to zero:
• where s= change in temperature due to a change in the shop Tim
body structure, which can be either positive or negative. Now let's
look at the various factors that contribute to the thermal equilibrium.
And will explain all of the mechanisms in Table 1.
 Mechanism of body
temperature regulation
By: Alsadig Adb Allah Osman
Mechanism of Body Temperature regulation:
• Humans are homeotherm, maintaining an average core temperature
of 37 +/- 0.5 degrees Celsius. We can measure the core body
temperature by inserting clinical thermometer in rectum.
Alternatively, the mouth temperature is taken as indicative of core
temperature, provided the thermometer is kept in the mouth 1 – 2
minutes.
• Core temperature varies slightly due to environmental and metabolic
factors. Exercise or fever may raise core temperature by up to three
degrees.
• The body temperature has physiological diurnal rhythm it is highest in
the afternoon and lowest in the early hours of morning
• The maintenance of a constant temperature depends on regulation
mechanism, mainly mediated through hypothalamus, where thermal
regulatory center have been identified.
• In anterior hypothalamus, the preoptic nuclei are sensitive to change
in core body temperature. These centers are mainly associated with
responses to heat exposure.
• Parts of the posterior hypothalamus are associated with the body
responses to cold exposure.
• The maintenance of a constant temperature depends on regulation
mechanism, mainly mediated through hypothalamus, where thermal
regulatory center have been identified.
• In anterior hypothalamus, the preoptic nuclei are sensitive to change
in core body temperature. These centers are mainly associated with
responses to heat exposure.
• Parts of the posterior hypothalamus are associated with the body
responses to cold exposure.
• Sensory inputs to these regulatory centers come from two main
thermal receptors:
• Central thermoreceptors.
• Receptors in the skin.
Central thermoreceptors:
• Receptors sensitive to core body temperature change has been
identified in the anterior hypothalamus, they monitoring the
temperature of the blood flowing through the hypothalamus and also
found in other part of the central nervous system e.g. spinal cord.
Receptors in the skin:
• Nerve endings in the skin that are specialized in detection of heat or
cold sensation detect change in the temperature of immediate
environment in contact with the body.
Mechanisms:
• Neural Mechanisms.
• Hormonal and chemical mechanisms.
Neural Mechanism:
• Lesions in the anterior hypothalamus result in elevation of body
temperature these centers are keeping of the temperature of body
down (lowering the heat production) the absence of the effect result
in fever and the body temperature can only brought down by cooling
the skin artificially .
• Lesions in posterior hypothalamus result in lower body temperature
or hypothermia. This is severe in cold environment where body
temperature can fall down to fatal levels unless artificial warming is
introduced.
• Neural mechanism control heat production depend on integrated
signals from both central and peripheral thermoreceptors
• Impulses from the skin receptors alone or from central receptors
alone do not seem to have an effect , the detail of central neural
mechanisms responsible for integration of thermal regulatory
responses are not fully understood.
Effects of exposure to heat:
• Vasodilatation of skin vessels which can increase skin blood flow to
60% of the cardiac output.
• Heat loss by radiation increases, conduction and convection also
increases but these are small amount of heat loss.
• If temperature is 30C or less the heat production is kept at basal or
resting levels.
• If temperature is higher than 30C then the core body temperature
may start to rise result in stimulation of sweating. The seat glands are
controlled by hypothalamic heat-regulating centers
• Heat is transferred from the body to the environment through a range
of mechanisms
Mode of Heat Transfer Percentage Loss (Normal Conditions)

Radiation 60%

15% to air
Conduction
3% to other objects

Evaporation 22%
Effects of exposure to cold:
• Shivering: heat gain can be increased by increasing the tension of the
skeletal muscles then reflex shivering occurs.
Laser applications in
dermatology
By: Hosam Hatim Osman
1- Ruby Laser (Vascular Laser):
This type of laser is directed to the hemoglobin inside red blood cells,
to treat :
- Haemangioma.
- Portwin Stain.
- Telangiectasia.
• Ruby crystal as the active medium.
• Ruby is aluminum trioxide in which about 0.05% of Al atoms have
been replaced by Chromium atoms.
• High voltage transformer(4000-10000V) connected to a bank of
capacitors and pulse-forming inductances.
• Xenon flash lamp (straight or helical).
• A high voltage trigger pulse to cause the flash lamp ionization.
• Wavelength = 6943 Ǻ (0.69 µm) lies in red regions.
• power> 15000 J/cm2. (watts).
• Retinal coagulation because emits light at wavelength which is in the
region of maximum absorption of light by the retina.
2- Nd-YAG Laser (Pigmented Laser ):
- Baker's Nevus, Nevus of Ota.
- In the treatment of freckles and grains uncle and tattoo
removal.
• The rod itself is a special type of glass (Yttrium Aluminum Garnet)
doped with Neodymium.
• Very popular in recent years because of their high out put energies,
repetition rates, and wavelength out puts.
• The active elements is a Nd-YAG crystals optically pumped by two
Krypton arc lamps.
• Neodymium: metal with atomic No. =60, Atomic mass =144.24 amu,
crystal structure= hexagonal, color = silvery, melting point 1010ºc.
• Yttrium : Y 39 , atomic mass= 88.9 amu, melting point =1526ºc.
• Laser wavelength (λ) = 1.06mm.
• Four -level transition = easy to achieve a population inversion.
• Nd-YAG rod place within an elliptical cavity.
• The pumping by pulsed or continuous discharge .
• Q-switching to obtain very high output power.
• Repetition rate = 10 KHz, Ideal for many applications.
Portwin Stain. Telangiectasia
3- Resurfacing : (CO2 laser 10.600 nm )
• These devices simply remove the outer layer of the skin and can control the
extent of the required depth by increasing or reducing the power of the
laser.
• Treatment can remove skin tumors (surgery is sometimes preferable to
laser in such cases).
• They can also face peeling to remove the entire surface wrinkles.
• This is considered the most dangerous lasers in terms of use because it may
cause complications such as bacterial or viral or occurrence of skin
infections, scarring if not used the right way.
• Lasers discussed above – use transitions among various excited
electronic states of an atom or ion.
• CO2 laser – uses transition between different vibrational states of CO2
molecule.
• One of the earliest Gas lasers.
• Highest power continuous wave laser currently available.
• CO2 laser possesses an extremely high efficiency.
• Large portion of input power is converted into useful output power.
• Output power of several watts to several kilowatts can be obtained.
4- An Excimer laser :(308nm)
A modern lasers proven in the
treatment of vitiligo, psoriasis and
other skin diseases.
5- Nonablative Resurfacing
- And this is one of the latest devices which are used to remove surface
wrinkles in the face, and there are more than ten kinds of lengths
1450 and 1540 nm band are best known
- The idea is that these devices are heating the lower layer of the skin,
specifically collagen, Fibroblast and then stimulate fibroblasts
-Collagen remodeling for the production of new collagen and the skin
will be more dynamic and cause tightening.
- Often note a very simple change before and after laser sessions, so it’s
not recommended to use these devices on brown skin because it may
cause brunette discoloration.
Before After
Galvanic Skin Response
Skin conductance
• Also known as galvanic skin response (GSR), electrodermal response (EDR),
psycho galvanic reflex (PGR), skin conductance response (SCR), or skin
conductance level (SCL), is a method of measuring the electrical
conductance of the skin, which varies depending on the amount of sweat-
induced moisture on the skin. Sweat is controlled by the sympathetic
nervous system.
• Skin conductance is used as an indication of psychological or physiological
arousal. If the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system is
highly aroused, then sweat gland activity also increases, which in turn
increases skin conductance. In this way, skin conductance can be used as a
measure of emotional and sympathetic responses. There has been a long
history of electrodermal activity research, most of it dealing with
spontaneous fluctuations or reactions to stimuli.
• Human extremities, including fingers, palms, and soles of feet display
different bio-electrical phenomena. They can be detected with a skin
conductance meter, a device that measures the electrical conductance
between two points and is essentially a type of ohmmeter. The two paths
for current are along the surface of the skin and through the body. Active
measuring involves sending a small amount of current through the body.
• The electrodes are normally placed about an inch apart, and the resistance
recorded varies according to the emotional state of the subject. Galvanic
skin potential (GSP) refers to the voltage measured between two
electrodes without any externally applied current. It is measured by
connecting the electrodes to a voltage amplifier. Similarly, this voltage
varies with the emotional state of the subject.
• The stimuli to which skin conductance is sensitive are manifold,
including events of a novel, significant, or intense nature. Arousal
level tends to below when a person is sleeping, and high in activated
states such as rage or mental workload. When you engage in a mental
workload task, such as solving a bunch of math problems (even if not
particularly hard), the level will tend to shoot up and then gradually
decline. Because many different kinds of events can elevate your skin
conductance (strong emotion, a startling event, a demanding task,
etc.)
Uses
• The most well-known use for measuring the electrical conductivity is
as a part of a polygraph or "lie detector" test. The reaction of the
body is measurable by this and many other parameters, when a
person tells a lie. Knowingly stating a falsehood is, in a physiological
sense, stressful and unnatural. A change in the conductivity of the
skin, as well as changes in breathing, heartbeat, and perspiration, is
one of the body's responses to the stress of lying.
• Measuring the response can also be an important element of certain
psychotherapy treatments, as well as behavioral therapy. Research
studies involving stress and anxiety levels have also been carried out
with attention to this response with the goal of helping the user to
control anxiety.
References
• M.Y Sukkar, H.A El-munshid, M. S. M. Ardawi. “Concise human physiology”. Retrived 2000.
• Nadia Drake (July 22, 2013). "Robotic Skin Lights Up When Touched". Wired. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
• "Researchers Develop Touch-Sensitive 'e-Skin'". HealthDay. September 13, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
• Gene Ostrovsky (September 13, 2010). "Stanford’s Rubber Based Artificial Skin". medGadget. Retrieved July
27, 2013.
• Scott Jung (February 23, 2011). "Scientists Develop Stretchable Solar Cells for Electronic Skin". medGadget.
Retrieved July 27, 2013.
• "Stick-on patch proposed for patient monitoring". fox News. AP. August 11, 2011. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
• Scott Jung (November 12, 2012). "Stanford’s Artificial Skin Project – Now Self-Healing!". medGadget.
Retrieved July 27, 2013.
• "Now, artificial skin that can sense touch and heal itself". Zee News. ANI. November 12, 2012. Retrieved July
27, 2013.
• Jon M. Chang (July 23, 2013). "Electronic ‘Skin’ Responds to Your Fingertips". ABC News. Retrieved July 23,
2013.
THANK YOU