Integumentary System

Lecture Outline
See separate PowerPoint slides for all figures and tables pre-inserted into PowerPoint without
notes.

©McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Authorized only for instructor use in the classroom.  No reproduction or further distribution permitted without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
• 6.1: Introduction
• Organs: body structures composed of two or more different
tissues that perform specific functions
• Skin is the largest organ in the body by weight
• The skin and its accessory organs make up the integumentary
system
• Accessory structures of the skin: hair, nails, glands, and
sensory receptors
• Skin acts as a barrier between internal environment and the
external environment

©McGraw-Hill Education.
• 6.2: Layers of the Skin
Skin has 2 layers:
• Epidermis: thin, outer layer of stratified squamous epithelium
• Dermis: thicker, inner layer of connective tissue, blood vessels,
smooth muscle, and nervous tissue
• Basement membrane separates epidermis from dermis, and
anchors these layers together
• Subcutaneous layer (hypodermis):
- Layer underneath dermis, consisting of areolar and adipose
tissues
- Binds skin to underlying tissues, but is not part of the skin
- Adipose tissue insulates to conserve body heat
- Contains major blood vessels that supply the skin
©McGraw-Hill Education.
• The Layers of the Skin and Hypodermis

©McGraw-Hill Education.
• The Epidermis
Characteristics of the epidermis:
• Made up of stratified squamous epithelium
• Lacks blood vessels
• Consists of 4 layers in most areas, 5 layers in thick skin
• Stratum basale (or stratum germinativum) is the deepest
layer; it consists of dividing cells; it is well-nourished by dermal
blood vessels
• As basal cells divide, older cells, called keratinocytes (due to
accumulation of fibrous protein, keratin), migrate toward skin
surface
• As keratinocytes migrate outward, they harden, dehydrate, and
die, in a process called keratinization
©McGraw-Hill Education.
• The Epidermis (2)
These 4 layers of the epidermis are found in all areas of the body:
• Stratum basale: innermost layer, dividing layer
• Stratum spinosum
• Stratum granulosum
• Stratum corneum: outermost layer; dead, flattened, keratinized
cells; these are continually being shed from the outer skin
surface
• Stratum lucidum: layer between the stratum granulosum and
the stratum corneum, which is found only in the thick skin of the
palms and soles
• The epidermis is important because it protects against water loss,
mechanical injury, chemicals, and microorganisms

©McGraw-Hill Education.
• The Epidermis of Thick Skin

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 – The Epidermis (3)
Melanocytes:
• Special cells that produce the pigment, melanin
• Found in deepest layer of epidermis and in dermis
• Melanin protects DNA of skin cells against damaging effects
of UV radiation from the sun
• Melanin pigment provides skin and hair color; the more
melanin is present, the darker the skin or hair will be
• Melanin is transferred from extensions of the melanocytes to
other nearby cells by the process of cytocrine secretion
• Eumelanin is brownish-black, and pheomelanin (found in
areas such as the lips) is reddish-yellow

©McGraw-Hill Education.
• Melanocytes and Melanin Pigment

©McGraw-Hill Education.
• Skin Color
• All people have about the same number of melanocytes
• Skin color is genetically determined, and involves the amount
of melanin that the melanocytes produce
• Skin color results from a combination of genetic,
environmental, and physiological factors
• Genetic differences in skin color result from differing amounts
of melanin produced, and in the size and distribution of
melanin granules
• Exposure to sunlight, UV light from sun lamps, and X-rays
cause darkening of skin, due to an increase in melanin
production

©McGraw-Hill Education.
• Skin Color (2)
• Circulation within dermal blood vessels affects skin color
– Well-oxygenated blood has a pinkish color, due to
hemoglobin
– Poorly oxygenated blood looks blue, due to deep red tone
of the hemoglobin; called cyanosis
• Yellowish skin color can come from eating too many orange
foods with carotene, or from jaundice due to liver disease.

©McGraw-Hill Education.
• The Dermis
The dermis:
• Binds the epidermis to underlying tissues
• Border between epidermis and dermis is uneven, due to epidermal
ridges (which extend down toward dermis) and dermal papillae (which
extend upward toward epidermis)
• Genetically determined pattern of friction ridges formed by dermal
papillae provide for unique fingerprints
• The dermis consists of areolar and dense connective tissue, with
collagen and elastic fibers within a gel-like ground substance
• The fibers provide toughness and elasticity to skin
• Dermal blood vessels carry nutrients to upper layers of skin, to help
regulate body temperature
• The dermis also contains nerve fibers, sensory receptors, hair follicles,
sebaceous glands, and sweat glands
©McGraw-Hill Education.
• The Layers of the Skin: Dermis

©McGraw-Hill Education.
• 6.3: Accessory Structures of the Skin:
Epidermal Derivatives
Nails:
• Protective coverings over the ends of fingers and toes
• Consist of a nail plate overlying a layer of skin surface, called
the nail bed
• Lunula: half-moon-shaped structure at base of nail plate;
most actively growing region of the nail root
• As new cells are produced, older ones are pushed outward
and become keratinized, just as in other parts of the skin
• Keratin of nails is harder than that of the stratum corneum
of the rest of the skin

©McGraw-Hill Education.
• Longitudinal & Dorsal View of a Nail

©McGraw-Hill Education.
• Hair Follicles
• Hair can be found in nearly all regions of the skin except
palms, soles, lips, nipples, and portions of external genitalia
• Each hair develops from epithelial stem cells at the base of a
tube-like depression called the hair follicle
• Hair follicles dip down into the dermis or sometimes the
subcutaneous layer
• The deepest part of the hair root is called the hair bulb; it is
located at the base of the hair follicle
• As new cells are formed in the bulb, old cells are pushed
outward and become keratinized, and die forming the hair
shaft
• Hair is composed of dead, keratinized epithelial cells

©McGraw-Hill Education.
• Hair Follicles

©McGraw-Hill Education.
• Hair Emerging from a Hair Follicle

©McGraw-Hill Education.
• Hair Color and Properties
• Hair color is determined by genetics
• Melanin produced by melanocytes is responsible for most
hair colors; type and amount of melanin are factors
• Dark hair contains eumelanin (brownish-black), while blonde
and red hair contain more pheomelanin (reddish-yellow)
• Genetic lack of melanin causes albinism (white)
• Mixture of pigmented and unpigmented hair is gray
• A bundle of smooth muscle cells, called an arrector pili
muscle, attaches to each hair follicle; when it contracts, in
response to cold temperature or emotional upset, it causes
goose bumps

©McGraw-Hill Education.
• Glands
Sebaceous glands:
• Holocrine glands; entire cells filled with secretion are released
• Associated with hair follicles
• Secrete an oily substance called sebum, that waterproofs and
moisturizes the hair shafts and skin
Sweat (sudoriferous) glands:
• Merocrine glands; secretions exit cells via exocytosis
• 2 types of sweat glands:
– Eccrine: merocrine glands that respond to body temperature;
more abundant type; many found on forehead, neck, back
– Apocrine: merocrine glands (incorrectly named) which become
active at puberty; respond to fear, emotional upset, pain, or sexual
arousal; most numerous in axilla and groin; sweat contains
proteins & fats that produce body odor
©McGraw-Hill Education.
• Modified Sweat Glands
• Ceruminous glands: secrete wax in the ear canal, to trap
dust and pathogens
• Mammary glands: secrete milk to nourish a baby

©McGraw-Hill Education.
• Sweat and Sebaceous Glands

©McGraw-Hill Education.
• 6.4: Skin Function
Functions of the skin:
• Protective covering; prevents many substances and pathogenic
microorganisms from entering body
• Protection of underlying tissues
• Houses sensory receptors
• Conducts part of the process for making vitamin D
• Body temperature regulation, via sweat gland activation, and
vasodilation or vasoconstriction of dermal blood vessels
• Healing of wounds

©McGraw-Hill Education.
• Role of Skin in Body Temperature Regulation
• Proper temperature regulation is vital to maintaining
metabolic reaction rates
• The skin plays a major role in temperature regulation, with
the hypothalamus controlling the process
• Active cells, such as those of the heart and skeletal muscle,
and the liver, produce heat
• Heat may be lost to the surroundings from the skin through
radiation

©McGraw-Hill Education.
• Healing of Wounds
• Inflammation, in which blood vessels dilate and become
more permeable, causing tissues to become red and swollen,
is the body's normal response to injury
• Dilated blood vessels bring in fluids, oxygen, nutrients, and
immune cells to aid in healing
• Superficial cuts are filled in by reproducing epithelial cells
• Deeper injuries, extending into the dermis or subcutaneous
layer, require a more extensive response

©McGraw-Hill Education.
• The Characteristics of Inflammation

©McGraw-Hill Education.
• The Healing of a Deep Wound
The response to a deep injury, extending into the dermis or
subcutaneous layer:
• Involves the formation of a blood clot from the released
blood
• The blood clot and dried tissue fluids form a scab to cover the
wound
• Fibroblasts migrate into the area, and secrete collagen fibers
to bind the edges of the wound together
• Phagocytic cells remove debris and dead cells
• Damaged tissue is replaced and the scab sloughs off

©McGraw-Hill Education.
• The Healing of a Deep Wound (2)
• Extensive collagen fiber production in the area may for an
elevated area called a scar
• Large wounds leave scars and healing may be accompanied
by the formation of rounded masses called granulations:
– A new branch of a blood vessel grows into the area
– The vessel is accompanied by a cluster of fibroblasts that
begin producing collagen fibers and repairing the wound
– Eventually, blood vessels are reabsorbed and the
fibroblasts leave, which leaves a scar of collagen fibers.

©McGraw-Hill Education.
• Stages in Wound Healing

©McGraw-Hill Education.