Assoc Prof Dr Mohamad Aris Mohd Moklas (PhD)

Department of Human Anatomy

FPSK UPM
aris@upm.edu.my
03 8947 2783

- In an average adult the skin covers a body

surface of 1.7 sq meters.
- It is the largest organ in the body (12% of body
weight).
- The creases in the skin are flexure lines over
joints.
Lines of cleavage (Langer's lines):
- is due to the parallal arrangement of the
collagen bundles.
- Surgical incisions made along these lines with a
minimum of scar tissue, incisions across these
lines heal with a heaped up broad scar.
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Lines of cleavage (Langer's lines)

Functions of Skin
1.Protective function: barrier to infective organism,
water proof, from too much light.
2.Temperature regulation: facilitates heat loss on hot
days and acts as insulator in cold days.
3.Excretory function: by sweating
4.Vitamin D synthesis
5.Receptive function (sensory function) by the nerve
endings.
6.Useful for physical examination:
(a) Colour of skin yellow in jaundice, pale in anaemia
(b) Texture of skin rough like sand paper (eg: in
vitamin A deficiency)
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Types of Skin
Thick skin (hairless skin)
palm of hand and sole of foot
Thin skin (hairy skin)
whole body, except palm and sole

Glaborous skin:
- skin areas without natural hair.
- on the human body, glabrous skin is external skin
that is naturally hairless.
- it is found on the ventral portion of the fingers,
palms, soles of feet, lips, nipple, labia minora,
glans penis & clitoris.

Skin
Varies in thickness at
different parts:
(< 0.5 mm at eyelids to > 5
mm on middle of upper
back)
Divided into three distinct
layers:
a) Epidermis
b) Dermis
c) Hypodermis lies
deep to the dermis

Skin is composed
(a) Epidermis
an epithelial layer
(b) Dermis
a layer of connective
tissue

(c) Hypodermis or
Subcutaneous
Tissue beneath the
dermis, It is
made up of
connective
tissue, often
containing
many adipose cells,
the panniculus
adiposus.
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1. Epidermis
stratified squamous
keratinized epithelium
2. Dermis

epidermal appendages,
blood vessels
nerve fibers, lymphatic
vessels.
3. Hypodermis (subcutaneous
tissue)
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Epidermis

Dermis
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Epidermis
- surface epithelial layer in contact with the external
environment.
- developed from ectoderm.
- down growths of this layer produce sweat gland, hair
follicles, and other epidermal appendages.
- stratified squamous keratinised epithelium.
- epidermis is avascular; therefore can shave without
bleeding.

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Surface Pattern of Epidermis

- Over the palmer surface of the hand and finger, a very
complex system of ridges is present.
- The pattern of finger print varies, from finger to finger
and from individual to individual. It is hereditary.
- These ridges are due to actual thickening of the
epithelium.

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The pores of sweat gland pass up through they

thickened portion of the epidermis to open on the
crest of the ridges.
Pores of sweat glands

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Epidermis consists of 5 layers:

1. Stratum germinativum or
basale.
2. Stratum spinosum or Prickle
celll layer.
3. Stratum granulosum
4. Stratum lucidum
5. Stratum corneum

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corneum

lucidum
granulosum
spinosum

germinativum

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1. Stratum Germinativum or Basale

Deepest layer
Rest on basement membrane
Consists of single layer of cuboidal or low
columnar cells with round or oval nuclei
In pigmented skin, the cytoplasm also contains
melanin granules.

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1. Stratum Germinativum or Basale

Cells in mitosis, melanocytes and Merkel cells are
seen in this layer
This layer is responsible for constant production of
keratinocytes.

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2. Stratum Spinosum or Prickle Cells Layer

- The keratinocytes above the basal cells form the prickle
cell layer.
- They are polyhedral with central round nuclei and
pinkish staining cytoplasm.

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2. Stratum Spinosum or Prickle Cells Layer

- Prickle cells are in contact with each other by
intercellular bridges, formed from small cytoplasmic
projections from the cell surface.
- This stratum consists of varying numbers of layers of
cells. Mitosis are also seen in this layer.

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Intercellular
bridges

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stratum spinosum
keratinocytes

intercellular bridge

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3. Stratum Granulosum
- Consists of 3 to 5 layers of cells of flattened and
deeply stained cells.
- In vertical section, the cells are diamond shape with a
thin cell membrane.

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3. Stratum Granulosum
- The cytoplasm contain small, oval or round bodies
called keratohyaline granules.
- The nucleus becomes pale and indistinct.
- Degenerative changes cause the keratohyaline and
tonofibrils to combine and form keratin.

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keratohyaline granule
sulphar rich amino acids

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Epidermis

Dermis

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4. Stratum Lucidum
- This narrow stratum shows in section as a homogeneous
layer, which has little affinity for stains.
- The protein of this layer is eleidin.
- No cellular outline and no nuclei can be detected.
- This layer is absent in thin skin.

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5. Stratum Corneum
- This is made up of varying number of layers of dead,
keratinised cells (squamous) lying closely applied and fixed
to one another.
- No cellular detail is visible.
- The nucleus has disappeared.
- The cytoplasm contains highly refractile keratin.
- The whole layer is deeply acidophilic.

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S. corneum

S. lucidum

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Appendages of the Skin (Epidermal Derivatives)

- All the glandular
structures of skin,
whether sweat,
sebaceous or ceruminous
glands are derived from
down growth of the early
epidermis.
- The hair follicles, hair
and nails are also of
epidermal origin.
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Other Elements Found in Epidermis

1. Occasional leucocytes, mainly lymphocytes may be
found.
2. The Dendritic Cells of Skin (Melanocytes)
-located in the basal layer of kerotinocytes
-main function is to produce the pigment melanin, which
is responsible for skin color and minimize the tissue
damage by ultra-violet radiation.

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Melanocytes

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3. Langerhans Cells
- They are located in all layers of the epidermis, but
are mostly seen in the prickle cell layer.
- They are an important component of the immune
system.

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4. Merkel Cells
- They are found in the basal layer and resemble
melanocytes.
- They are touch receptors.

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free nerve ending

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5. Nerve Fibrils
- Fine non-myelinated
fibres lie between the
epithelial cells.
- These are the free
nerve endings.
- They are pain receptors.

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Receptors found in the skin

-Free nerve endings.
-Merkel disc
- Krause end bulb
-Peritricheal ending

-Meissners corpuscle
-Pacinian corpuscl3e
-Ruffini

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Dermis
- Dermis is the supporting tissue on
which epidermis sits, and within
which the epidermal appendages,
blood vessels, nerve fibres and
lymphatic vessels are situated.
- The dermis may be divided into 2
zones:
1. the outer zone (papillary layer)
2. the inner zone (reticular layer)

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Papillary layer
- This layer includes ridges and papillae protruding into the
epidermis.
- The papillae are numerous and tall in palm and sole.
- Elastic and collagen fibers are loosely arranged.
- Many arterio-venous channels covered by connective
tissue capsule known as Glomus bodies can be found
mainly in the finger tips.

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- The ridges of epidermis grow down into the peak of

the each primary dermal ridge, so that the primary
dermal ridges are each split into secondary ridges.
- The latter were termed papillae.
- The epidermal down growth that lies between each
pair is termed an interpapillary peg.

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Epidermal ridge

epidermal peg

dermal papilla
secondary ridge
primary dermal ridge

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S. lucidum

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Hair Follicle Unit

This unit consists of
1. Hair follicle
2. The hair shaft
3. One or several
sebaceous glands and
4. Small erector or
arrector pili muscle.
This unit is absent in
thick skin.

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The Erector Pili Muscles

- are smooth muscle
bands situated in the
obtuse angle between the
hair follicle and surface.
Its contraction makes the
hair follicle and shaft to
become vertical.

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Nail
Nails are plates of
keratinized epithelial
cells on the dorsal
surface of each distal
phalanx.
Growth rate 13mm/month

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Nail
The nearly transparent
nail plate and the thin
epithelium of the nail
bed provide a useful
window on the amount
of oxygen in the blood
by showing the color of
blood in the dermal
vessels.
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Nail
Nails develop from
thickened areas of
epidermis at the tips of
each digit called nail
fields.
Later these nail fields
migrate onto the dorsal
surface surrounded
laterally and proximally
by folds of epidermis
called nail folds.

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Sebaceous gland
Holocrine type of branched acinar gland.
Acinus consists of rounded cells filled with
lipid.
Cell lost by holocrine secretion are replaced
by the proliferation of basal cell of acinus.
Open either with in hair follicle(common) or
on the skin surface( rare).
These are not under nervous control.
Pilo-sebaceous apparatus.
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 Gland lies within

fibrous sheath of hair
follicle.
Glandular epithelium
represents the
external root sheath.
Discharge their
secretion to hair shaft
and then to skin
surface.
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Eccrine sweat gland

Found everywhere in the skin
Secrets watery secretion sweat which
helps in thermoregulation.
It has 2 component- secretory glandular
tissue and duct system . Both are coiled
structures.
Secretory part has 3 types of cells- clear
cells, dark cells and myoepithelial cells.
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Sweat gland
sebaceous
gland

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Apocrine gland
Apocrine glands are mainly confined to the
areolae of the breasts, axillae and genital
regions.
produce a viscid, milky secretion which
becomes malodorous after the action of
skin commensal bacteria.
Open into the hair follicle.
Matured only after the puberty
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Apocrine gland .
These are much larger in shape than
eccrine glands.
Innervated by adrenergic nerve ending not
by cholinergic as in eccrine glands.
Glands of moll of eyelid and ceruminous
gland of ear are modified sweat gland.

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Thin skin

hair follicle
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Differences between THICK skin &THIN skin

Thick skin

Thin skin

Distribution

Palm & sole

Rest of body

Epidermis

Thicker 5 layers

Thinner 4 layers

S. Basalis

one layer of columnar cells

same

S. Spinosum

Several layers of polyhedral

cellswith spine like projections

Relatively thin

S. Granulosum

3-4 cell thick, diamond shaped cells Scanty & irregular

with keratohyaline granules in the
cytoplasm

S. Lucidum

(+) as a clear bright eosinophilic

homogenous line

(-)

S. Corneum

Very thick deeply eosinophilic layer

of keratinized dead cells

thin
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3. Epidermal ridge

Well marked &

correspond to dermal
papilla below

Only line which correspond to

the depressed opening of hair
follicles

4. Dermis
a. Papillary layer

Double rows of
Not prominent & irregular
papillae are prominent
& regular

A-V anastomosis

(+)

(-)

Tactile corpuscle

(+) especially
numerous in finger
pads

few

b. Reticular layer
Sweat gland

(+++)

(+)

Sebaceous gland

(-)

(+)

Hair follicle

(-)

(+)

Arector pili m/s

(-)

(+)

Pacinian corpuscle

(+++)

(+)

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Skin color
1) MELANIN: (dark brown pigment).
2) CAROTENE: (a yellowish/orange pigment found
only in plants). Accumulates more in the skins of
Asians and Native Americans.
3) SKIN THICKNESS: blood vessels seen, looks
pinker
4) HEMOGLOBIN: The DERMIS contains the
blood vessels that give Caucasians the pink
color to the skin. Even veins are red because
blood is red. But when you look at veins through
the adipose layer (the hypodermis), they look 62
blue.

Clinical importance
1.Albinism

2.Pemphigus blistering disorder due to loss of

intercellular junction between keratinocytes
3. Scratch marks.

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