Integumentary System

Gene Karlo D. Abag, RN, MAN(c)

Skin and Body Membranes
 Cover surfaces, line body cavities, and form protective sheets
around organs
 epithelial membranes: include the cutaneous, mucous, and serous
membranes (covering and lining membranes)
 connective tissue membranes: represented by synovial membranes
(no epithelial cells)
• The cutaneous membrane, generally called the skin or
integumentary system, is the outer covering that we all rely on
for protection.
• Skin is absolutely essential because it keeps water and other
precious molecules in the body. It also keeps excess water (and
other things) out.
Introduction
 The integumentary system, also called the integument,
which simply means “covering,” performs a variety of
functions; most, but not all, of which are protective.
- insulates and cushions the deeper body organ
- protects the entire body from mechanical, chemical, and
thermal damage
- protects the body from ultraviolet radiation and microbes
 capillary network and sweat glands regulates heat loss
from the body surface
 capillary network and sweat glands; urea, salts, and
water are lost when we sweat
 manufactures several proteins important to immunity and
synthesizes vitamin D.
 produces acidic secretions, called the acid mantle, that
protect against bacterial invasion
2 Kinds of Skin Tissue
 Epidermis - made up of stratified squamous epithelium that can
become hard and tough.
 Dermis - made up mostly of dense connective tissue. The epidermis
and dermis are firmly connected, and the dermis is fairly tear resistant
 Subcutaneous Tissue or Hypodermis - adipose (fat) tissue. It is not
considered part of the skin, but it does anchor the skin to underlying
organs and provides a site for nutrient storage. Subcutaneous tissue
serves as a shock absorber and insulates the deeper tissues from
extreme temperature changes occurring outside the body. It is also
responsible for the curves that are more a part of a woman’s anatomy
than a man’s.
Epidermis
 Cells are Keratinocytes (keratin producing)
 Keratinization = the process of producing keratin
 Desmosomes connects keratinocytes throughout the epidermis
 Avascular = no blood vessels
 5 layers or strata
1. Stratum basale
2. Stratum spinosum
3. Stratum granulosum
4. Stratum lucidum
5. Stratum corneum
Stratum Basale
 closest to the dermis
 contains the most adequately nourished of the epidermal cells
 also called “stratum geminativum” – germinating new cells
daily
 Of the new cells produced, some become epidermal cells, and others
maintain the population of stem cells by continuing to divide.
Epidermal cells continue moving upward becoming part of the
stratum spinosum and then the stratum granulosum, they become
flatter and increasingly keratinized. As these cells leave the stratum
granulosum, they die, forming the clear stratum lucidum.
Stratum spinosum
 Cells contain thick bundles of intermediate filaments made of pre-
keratin.

Stratum granulosum
 Cells are flattened, organelles are deteriorating; cytoplasm full of
granules.

Stratum corneum
 Cells are dead, flat membranous sacs filled with keratin. Glycolipids
in extracellular space make skin water resistant.
Stratum lucidum
 This layer is not present in all skin regions. It occurs only where the
skin is hairless and extra thick, that is, on the palms of the hands and
soles of the feet.

Stratum corneum
 20 to 30 cell layers thick, but it accounts for about three-quarters of
the epidermal thickness. The shinglelike dead cell remnants, filled
with keratin, are referred to as cornified, or horny, cells (cornu =
horn).
 Epidermal Dendritic cells (DCs) - specialized antigen presenting
cells abundant in peripheral tissues such as skin where they function
as immune sentinels. Skin DCs migrate to draining lymph node
where they interact with naïve T cells to induce immune responses
to microorganisms, vaccines, tumors and self-antigens.
 Melanocyte is a highly differentiated cell that produces a pigment
melanin inside melanosomes. This cell is dark and dendritic in
shape. Melanin production is the basic function of melanocyte.
 Melanin is a substance in your body that produces hair, eye and
skin pigmentation. The more melanin you produce, the darker
your eyes, hair and skin will be. The amount of melanin in your
body depends on a few different factors, including genetics and
how much sun exposure your ancestral population had.
 Merkel cells - associated with sensory nerve endings and serve as
touch receptors called Merkel discs.
Dermis
 “hide”
 strong, stretchy envelope that helps to bind the body together
(leather belts, bag, shoes are treated dermis of animals)

Two Major Regions of Dermis

 Papillary – areolar connective tissue
 Reticular – dense irregular connective tissue
Papillary Layer
 superficial dermal region
 uneven and has peg-like projections from its superior surface, called dermal
papillae
 many of the dermal papillae contain capillary loops, which furnish nutrients to the
epidermis
 house pain receptors (free nerve endings) and touch receptors.
 On the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, the papillae are arranged in
definite patterns that form looped and whorled ridges on the epidermal
surface that increase friction and enhance the gripping ability of the fingers
and feet. Papillary patterns are genetically determined. The ridges of the
fingertips are well provided with sweat pores and leave unique, identifying
films of sweat called fingerprints on almost anything they touch.
Reticular Layer
 deepest skin layer
 contains dense irregular connective tissue, as well as blood vessels,
sweat and oil glands, and deep pressure receptors called lamellar
corpuscles
 contains other cutaneous sensory receptors
 tiny receptors that includes touch, pressure, temperature, and
pain receptors
 Phagocytes are found here acting to prevent microbes that have
managed to get through the epidermis from penetrating any deeper
into the body.
 collagen and elastic fibers are found throughout the dermis.
Collagen fibers are responsible for the toughness of the dermis; they
also attract and bind water and thus help to keep the skin hydrated.
Elastic fibers give the skin its elasticity when we are young. As we
age, the number of collagen and elastic fibers decreases, and the
subcutaneous tissue loses fat. As a result, the skin loses its elasticity
and begins to sag and wrinkle.
 Three pigments contribute to skin color: melanin, carotene, and
hemoglobin.
 Skin exposure to sunlight stimulates melanocytes to produce more
melanin pigment, resulting in tanning of the skin. Melanin forms a
pigment umbrella over the superficial, or “sunny,” side of their
nuclei and shields their genetic material (DNA) from the damaging
effects of UV radiation in sunlight
 Carotene is an orange-yellow pigment plentiful in carrots and other
orange, deep yellow, or leafy green vegetables.
 Homeostatic Imbalances
 Cyanosis – Bluish Discoloration of the skin due to lack of Oxygen in the blood
 Redness or Erythema – may indicate embarrassment (blushing), fever,
hypertension, inflammation, or allergy.
 Pallor or Blanching – emotional stress (fear, anger, and others), some people
become pale. Pale skin may also signify anemia, low blood pressure, or impaired
blood flow into the area.
 Jaundice or yellow cast. An abnormal yellow skin tone usually signifies a liver
disorder in which excess bile pigments accumulate in the blood, circulate throughout
the body, and become deposited in body tissues.
 Rubor – reddening or dark discoloration that occurs when a limb has poor arterial
flow
 Bruises – black-and-blue marks of bruising reveal sites where blood has escaped
from the circulation and has clotted in the tissue spaces. Such clotted blood masses
are called hematomas. An unusual tendency to bruise may signify a deficiency of
vitamin C in the diet or hemophilia (bleeder’s disease).
Appendages of the Skin
 Cutaneous glands
 Hair and hair follicles
 Nails
Each of these appendages arises from the
epidermis and plays a unique role in
maintaining body homeostasis.
Cutaneous Glands
 exocrine glands that release their secretions to the skin
surface via ducts.
 Two groups of Cutaneous Glands are sebaceous glands
and sweat glands.
As these glands are formed by the cells of the stratum
basale, they push into the deeper skin regions and
ultimately reside almost entirely in the dermis.
 Two groups of Cutaneous Glands are sebaceous glands
and sweat glands.
Sebaceous Glands/Oil Glands
 found all over the skin, except on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet
 ducts usually empty into a hair follicle, but some open directly onto the skin
surface.
• Sebum =
 product of sebaceous glands, mixture of oily substances and fragmented cells
 lubricant that keeps the skin soft and moist and prevents the hair from becoming
brittle.
 contains chemicals that kill bacteria, so it is important in preventing bacterial
infection of the skin
 The sebaceous glands become very active when androgens (male sex hormones)
are produced in increased amounts (in both sexes) during adolescence. Thus, the
skin tends to become oilier during this period of life.
Sweat Glands
 are widely distributed in the skin
 more than 2.5 million per person
Two types of sweat glands
• Eccrine - far more numerous and are found all over the body. They produce
sweat, a clear secretion that is primarily water plus some salts (sodium chloride),
vitamin C, that cause them to secrete sweat when the external temperature or
body temperature is too high.
• Apocrine - are largely confined to the axillary (armpit) and genital areas of the
body. They are usually larger than eccrine glands, and their ducts empty into hair
follicles. Their secretion contains fatty acids and proteins, as well as all the
substances present in eccrine sweat; consequently, it may have a milky or
yellowish color. The secretion is odorless, but when bacteria that live on the skin
use its proteins and fats as a source of nutrients for their growth, it can take on a
musky, sometimes unpleasant odor.
Hair and Hair Follicles
 Hair is produced by Hair Follices
 Among the fastest growing tissue in the body
 Hair protects the head against bumps, shields the eye,
helps keep foreign bodies out of the respiratory tract
Hair
 part of the hair enclosed in the hair follicle is called
the root, and the part projecting from the surface of
the scalp or skin is called the shaft
 forms by division of the well-nourished stratum
basale epithelial cells in the matrix (growth zone) of
the hair bulb at the deep end of the follicle.
 daughter cells are pushed farther away from the
growing region, they become keratinized and die.
Thus the bulk of the hair shaft, like the bulk of the
epidermis, is dead material and almost entirely
protein.
Hair Follicles
 compound structures
 Epithelial root sheath – inner, composed of epithelial tissue
and forms the hair.
 Fibrous sheath – outer, dermal connective tissue, supplies
blood vessels to the epidermal portion and reinforces it. Hair
papilla supplies blood to the hair bulb. Arrector pili connect
each side of the hair follicle to the dermal tissue. Responsible
for “goose bumps”
Nail
 scalelike modification of the epidermis
 has a free edge, a body (visible attached portion),
and a root (embedded in the skin)
 borders of the nail are over-lapped by folds of
skin called nail folds
 The edge of the thick proximal nail fold is
commonly called the cuticle
 stratum basale of the epidermis extends beneath
the nail as the nail bed
 Its thickened proximal area, called the nail
matrix
 thickened nail matrix that appears as a white
crescent and is called the lunule