AlexisGraceLopez

Lafferty
A&P3rdpd.
30September2015

IntegumentarySystemLabReport

Theintegumentarysystemisanorgansystemconsistingoftheskin,hair,nails,
andexocrineglands.Theskiniscomposedofseveraltypesoftissue.Itisonevital
organneededtomaintainhomeostasis.Toassistinhomeostasistheskinstartsto
sweattokeepthebodycoolwhenitishotandshakestokeepthebodywarmwhenitis
cold.Sweatingisanimportantoutletforwastessuchassaltandnitrogencontaining
compounds(urine).Theskinalsoservesasaprotectivebarriertohelpprotectthebody
fromharmfulsubstances,aswellasmicroorganismsfromenteringthebody.Theskin
hasvariousamountsofparts,forexample:epidermis,dermis,andthehypodermis.The
epidermisistheoutermostlayercomposedofstratifiedsquamousepithelium.The
epidermisalsocontainsfivebasiclayerscalled:stratumbasale,stratumspinosum,
stratumgranulosum,stratumlucidum,andthestratumcorneum.Togetabitmore
detailed,thestratumbasaleisseparatedintodifferentpartswhicharethekeratinocyte
(whichhelpmaketheskinmorewaterresistant),themelanocyte(whichhelpprotect
theskinfromharmfulUVraysandalsohelpsgivetheskinitspigment),themerkelcell
(whichhelpwiththesenseoftouch),andthelangerhans(whichspecializeinantigen
presentationandbelongtotheskinsimmunesystem).

SkinTemperatureandRecoveryTime

Theregulationofthebodystemperatureisvitallyimportantbecauseeventhe
slightestshiftcoulddisruptthebodysmetabolicreactions.
Thermoregulationisthe
processthatallowsthehumanbodytomaintainitscoreinternaltemperature.Thestate
ofhavinganeveninternaltemperatureiscalledhomeostasis.Allthermalregulation
mechanismsaredesignedtoreturnthebodytohomeostasis.
Althoughthe
temperaturesaroundthethebodymaydiffer,thecoreofourbodystemperaturetends
toremainat98.6dependingonyourbodysnormaltemperature.Thepartsofyour
bodyincludingthemuscles,activeorgans,andbonesarethewarmestpartsofourbody
becausetheyusethemostamountofenergytofunction.Thegraphsbelowaremydata
collectedwhiletestingmyskinsbaselinetemperatureandthetimeittooktogetbackto
mybaselinetemperatureafterholdingiceonmyskinforthirtyseconds.

SensoryReceptors

Intheskintherearesensoryreceptorsthatallowustotouch.Mechanoreceptors:
Thesereceptorsperceivesensationssuchaspressure,vibrations,andtexture.There
arefourknowntypesofmechanoreceptorswhoseonlyfunctionistoperceive
indentionsandvibrationsoftheskin:Merkel'sdisks,Meissner'scorpuscles,Ruffini's
corpuscles,andPaciniancorpuscles.Thermoreceptors:Astheirnamesuggests,these
receptorsperceivesensationsrelatedtothetemperatureofobjectstheskinfeels.They
arefoundinthedermislayeroftheskin.Therearetwobasiccategoriesof
thermoreceptors:hotandcoldreceptors.Painreceptors:Thescientifictermis
nocireceptor."Noci"inLatinmeans"injurious"or"hurt"whichisagoodcluethatthese
receptorsdetectpainorstimulithatcanordoescausedamagetotheskinandother
tissuesofthebody.Thereareoverthreemillionpainreceptorsthroughoutthebody,
foundinskin,muscles,bones,bloodvessels,andsomeorgans.Theycandetectpain
thatiscausedbymechanicalstimuli(cutorscrape),thermalstimuli(burn),orchemical
stimuli(poisonfromaninsectsting).Proprioceptors:InLatin,theword"proprius"means
"one'sown"andisusedinthenameofthesereceptorsbecausetheysensetheposition
ofthedifferentpartsofthebodyinrelationtoeachotherandthesurrounding
environment.Proprioceptorsarefoundintendons,muscles,andjointcapsules.This
locationinthebodyallowsthesespecialcellstodetectchangesinmusclelengthand
muscletension.Withoutproprioceptors,wewouldnotbeabletodofundamentalthings
suchasfeedingorclothingourselves.Thedatabelowisdensitybetweenmysensory
receptors.Asyoucanseefromthehomunculusfigurebelowmyhandsandfeetare
slightlylargerwhichmeansthatthespacebetweenthesensorsaresmaller.The
smallerthenumbersthehigherthesensitivityistotheskinwhichmeansthereisalotof
brainconnectiondirectedatthosepoints.

WorksCited:

1.)http://learning.hccs.edu/faculty/jennifer.mcgehee/biol2401/lab4

2.)WhatistheScientificMethod?HomeScienceTools.Accessed21September2012
<
http://www.hometrainingtools.com/scientificmethodteachingtip/a/1173
>.

3.)Shier,David.
Holeshumananatomy&physiology/DavidShier,JackieButler,RickiLewis.
Thirteenthed.