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Chapter 5
INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM
INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM
Skin and accessory structures
Hair, glands, nails
Integument = covering
One of the more familiar side of the body
Easily observed
Concerned with the appearance of the integumentary system
e.g. skin w/o blemishes = attractive
acne = embarrassing to teenagers
development of wrinkles
graying or loss of hair
THE THING ABOUT THE INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM
1. Invest much time, effort and money on changing the appearance
e.g. apply lotion
color hair
trim nails
use deodorants, perfumes, antiperspirants (for body odor)
2. Indicates physiological imbalances in the body
e.g. acne & warts = affect integumentary system only
others = affect diff. parts but reflected in the integumentary
system
reduced blood flow thru the skin during a heart
attack = pale
increased blood flow as a result of fever = flushed
appearance
skin rashes (measles, chicken pox, allergic reactions)
3. Interacts in complex ways in both health and diseased states

FUNCTIONS
1. Protection
Against abrasion & ultraviolet light
Prevents microorganisms from entering the body
Reduces water loss = prevents dehydration
2. Secretion
Sensory receptors = detects heat, cold, touch, pressure, pain
3. Vitamin D production
Produces a molecule that can transform into vitamin D
impt regulator of Ca
homeostasis
4. Temperature regulation
Amt of blood flow beneath the skins surface
Activity of sweat glands in the skin
5. Excretion
Small amts of waste products = lost thru the skin + gland
secretions
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BioSci Lec | Jeanne Moroa | 2DPH

SKIN
Thickness of epidermis & dermis varies depending on location
Rests on the subcutaneous layer
Layer of connective tissue
Not a part of the skin
Connects skin to underlying muscle or bone
ANALOGY: (house)
Subcutaneous tissue foundation
Dermis forms most of the house
Epidermis roof
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------TWO LAYERS OF THE SKIN

a. Epidermis
o Most superficial layer of skin
o Layer of (stratified squamous) epithelial tissue that rests
on the dermis
o Deep layers = cell are divided via mitosis
New cells form = push older cells to the surface
where they slough/flake off
Outermost cells = protect the cells underneath
Deeper replicating cells = replicate cells lost from
the surface
Keratinization
Cells change shape & chemical composition
Cells become filled w/ keratin = hardens the
tissue
Epithelial cells = die & produce an outer layer of dead, hard cells
o Prevents water loss
o Resists abrasion
o Forms a permeability barrier

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LAYERS OF EPIDERMIS (2 layers mentioned only in book)
A. Stratum basale
o Deepest stratum
o Cuboidal/columnar cells
o Undergoes mitotic divisions (every 19 days)
One daughter cell = new stratum basale cell + divides again
Other daughter cell = pushed towards the surface (40-56 days)
o Movement of cell = produces intermediate strata
B. Stratum Corneum
o Most superficial stratum
o Dead squamous cells filled w/ keratin
gives structural strength
o Cells are coated & surrounded by lipids = prevents fluid loss
o 25 or more layers of dead squamous cells
Joined by desmosomes
Break apart
Cells are sloughed off

BioSci Lec | Jeanne Moroa | 2DPH

o Excessive sloughing = dandruff

o Callus
Skin subjected to friction
Layer greatly increases
Thickened area
o Corn
Over a bony prominence
Thick, cone-shaped structure
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b. Dermis
o Where epidermis rests
o Layer of dense (collagenous) connective tissue
o Responsible for structural strength
o 10-20 times thicker than epidermis
o Contains fibroblasts, adipocytes, macrophages
o Nerve follicles, smooth muscles, glands, lymphatic
vessels extends
o Collagen & elastic fibers
For structural strength of dermis
Collagen
Oriented in may diff. directions
Can resist stretch
Cleavage lines
Tension lines
Oriented in some directions than in
others
Most resistant to stretch
Important for surgeons to be aware of
these
Across gap & produce scar
tissues
Parallel gap less & produce
less scar tissue
Stretch marks
Overstretched skin
Dermis can be damaged
Visible lines seen in the epidermis
Person increases in size quite rapidly
e.g. pregnancy (abdomen, breast),
intense weight training (increased
muscle size)
Dermal papillae
Upper part of dermis
Projections
Extend toward the epidermis
Contain many blood vessels
Supply overlying epidermis w/
nutrients
Removes waste products
Regulates body temp
Palms, soles, tips of digits

BioSci Lec | Jeanne Moroa | 2DPH

Parallel, curving ridges

increase fiction
improve the grip of hands
and feet
Shape overlying epidermis into fingerprints & footprints

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SKIN COLOR
FACTORS DETERMINING SKIN COLOR
1. Pigments in skin
2. Blood circulating through the skin
3. Thickness of the stratum corneum
MELANIN
Group of pigments
Skin, hair, eye color
Brown to black pigments, some are yellowish or reddish
Protection against UV light from sun
Melanocytes
Irregularly shaped cells
Many long processes that extend bet. epithelial cells of deep part
of epidermis
Melanosomes
Packages melanin into these vesicles
Moves into the cell processes of melanocytes
Epithelial cells phagocytize the tips of melanocytes = acquires
melanosomes
Epithelial cells of epidermis can contain melanin = melanocytes
produce it
Large amounts = freckles/moles, darkened areas in the genitalia,
nipples, and circular areas around the nipples
Less melanin = lips, palms, soles

DETERMINING MELANIN PRODUCTION

1. Genetic factors
- Responsible for amounts of melanin produced in diff. races
- Diff. races = same number of melanocytes
- Racial variations
a. Amount
b. Kind
c. Distribution
- Single mutation = prevent production of melanin
e.g. albinism recessive genetic trait that causes a
deficiency/absence of melanin
- fair skin, white hair, unpigmented irises
2. Exposure to light
- Stimulates melanocytes to increase melanin production
- Suntan
3. Hormones
- Causes an increase in melanin production during pregnancy
e.g. estrogen & melanocyte-stimulating hormone

BioSci Lec | Jeanne Moroa | 2DPH

e.g. pregnancy effects (darkening of nipples and its circular area &
genitalia, forehead & cheekbones, midline of abdomen)
4. Location of pigments & other substances
- Dark skin on sub q/connective tissue
- Dark skin located = light reflected off can be scattered by collage
to produce any color
- Deeper dermis = blue pigment appears
Light-scattering effect of the underlying
tissue
e.g. tattoos, bruises, superficia

BLOOD FLOW
Reddish hue blood flow thru the skin
Red color intensifies blood flow increases
e.g. blushing, redness resulting from inflammatory response
Decrease in blood flow = pale skin
Cyanosis
- Decrease in O2 content
- Bluish color of the skin
Birthmarks
- Congenital disorders of the blood vessels
- Dermis
CAROTENE
Yellow pigment down found on plants (squash, carrot)
Source of Vitamin A
Lipid-soluble
Accumulates in the lipids of startum corneum + adipocytes of dermis &
subq tissue
Become yellow if taken a lot

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SUBCUTANEOUS TISSUE
Hypodermis
Foundation
Attaches to underlying bone & supplies it w/ blood vessels & nerves
Loose connective tissue
Adipose
Lipids
Padding and insulation
Difference in women and man
Estimate total body flat
Skin and sub q tissue = pinched at selected increases +
thickness is measured
Thicker fold, greater total body fat
Different every population but women have higher total body fat
than males do
21%-30% for female; 13%-25% for male

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BioSci Lec | Jeanne Moroa | 2DPH

ACCESSORY SKIN STRUCTURES

1. Hair
Found everywhere except palms, soles, lips, nipples, parts of
genitalia, and distal segments of the finger
Surface epidermis is upper firm
a. Hair follicle
o Extension of epidermis
o Originates deep in the dermis
o Can divide & serve as a source of new epithelial tissues
b. Shaft
o Produces above the surface of skin
c. Hair root/hair bulb
o Below the surface
d. Cuticle
o Single layer of overlapping cells

GROWTH STAGE OF HAIR

Produced in hair bulb -> rests on hair papilla

Blood vessels w/in papilla = supply hair bulb w/ nourishment
need to produce hair
Duration depends on individual hair
Eyelashes: 30 days growth, 105 days rest
Scalp hairs: 3 years growth, 1-2 years of dandruff
Loss of hair (normally) = falls out when new hair begins to grow
Pattern baldness permanent loss of hair in some men
Hair follicles are lost = some remain + produce a very short,
transparent, hair
= practical purposes -> individual
Changes = male sex hormones act on the hair follicles
= genetic predisposition for pattern baldness

a. Growth
o Formed by epithelial cells w/in hair bulb
o Divides & undergoes keratinization
o Hair grows longer = cells are added to the base of the hair
w/in hair bulb
o Hair root + shaft = dead keratinized epithelial cells
b. Resting Age
o Growth stops
o Hair is held in hair follicle
o Next growth stage: new hair formed, old hair falls out
HAIR COLOR

Varying amounts + type of melatonin

Production + distribution of melanin by melanocytes = hair bulb by the
same method
(age) Melanin decrease, hair color, decrease
Faded skin, or sell base hard
Sell base all + be while

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ARRECTOR PILI

Smooth muscle cells

Contraction = hair becomes more perpendicular
stand on end
Produces skin goosebump -> raised area of skin

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2. Glands
TWO TYPES OF GLANDS:
1. Sebaceous
o Simple, branched acinar glands
o Connected by a duct to the superficial part of a follicle
o Sebum oily, white substance rich in lipids
Released by holocrine secretion
Lubricates the hair and SA of skin
Prevents drying & protects against some bacteria
2. Sweat
a. Eccrine
o Simple, coiled, tubular glands
o Release sweat by merocrine secretions
o Almost every part of the skin (most reroutes = recorbs +
recar)
o Produce secretion that is mostly water in a few salts
o Have ducts that open onto the SA of skin via sweat pores
o Increase in temp = body sweats, evaporates & cools the
body
o Can be released via palms, soles, armpits, & other stuff
because of emotional stress
o Emotional sweating
lie detector
sweat glands usu. increases when a person is
nervous
can detect even small amts of sweat because salt
soln is elastic so
hindi siya lowers the electrical system
b. Apocrine
o Simple, coiled, tubular glands
o Produce a thick secretion rich in organic substances
Released
primarily by
merocrine
secretion
Some glands
show holocrine
o Open into hair follicles (only in armpits & genitalia)
o Active at puberty = influence of sex hormones
o Organic secretion = essentially odorless when released
= quickly broken down by the bacteria into
substances

BioSci Lec | Jeanne Moroa | 2DPH

Substances that are w/c broken

down is
body odor
3. Nails

a.
b.
c.
d.

e.

o A thin plate
o Consists a layer of dead stratum corneum cells
o Contain a very hard type of keratin
Nail body
Visible part
Nail root
Nail covered layer by skin
Cuticle
Eponychium
Stratum corneum that extends onto nail body
Nail matrix
Extends distally
Epithelial tissue w/ a stratum basale
Thicker than nail bed
Produces most of the nail
Lunula
Can be seen thru the nail body as a whitish, crescentshaped area at the base of the nail
Cell production = growth of cell
Nails grow continuously + no resting stage
Nail bed
Distal to the nail matrix
Epithelial tissue w/ a stratum basale
Give rise to the cells that form the nail

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PHYSIOLOGY OF INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM
1. Protection
Reduces water loss
Prevents microorganisms & other foreign substances to enter the
body
Secretion produces an unstable environment for some
microorganisms
Protects underlying structures against abrasion
Melanin absorbs UV light + protects underlying structures
Hair: heat insulator
Eyebrows: sweat out of eye
Nose/ear hair: prevents hairy of dust & other materials
Nails protect the ends of fingers & toes + useful in defense
2. Sensation
Receptors = detect pain, heat, cold, pressire
Sensory receptors around the hair follicle = movement of a hair
3. Vitamin D Production
Skin is exposed to UV light = precursor molecule of vit. D is
formed
Precursor is carried by the blood via liver (modified here) then to
kidneys
Precursor is modified further to form act. D.

BioSci Lec | Jeanne Moroa | 2DPH

Exposed enough = humans can produce vit. D that they need

Many people need to ingest vit. D
Clothing & indoor living reduce their exposure to UV
light
Sources of Vit. D:
a. Fatty fish & fish oils
b. Vit. D-fortified milk
c. Eggs
d. Butter
not considered significant since too large a serving size is
needed

e. Liver
Stimulates the small intestine to absorb Ca2+ & HPO4
substances necessary for
normal
bone growth & muscle fxn
4. Temperature Regulation
Normal body temp = 370C (98.60F)
Important because the rate of chemical rxn w/in the body can be
increased or decreased by changes in body temp
Slight changes in temp = make enzymes operate less efficiently
+ disrupt normal rates
Raise body temp exercise, fever, increase in environmental
temp
To maintain homeostasis
a. HEAT
Body must rid itself of excess heat
Blood vessels dilate
Enables more blood to flow w/in the skin
Transferring heat from deeper tissues to skin
Heat is lost by radiation (infrared energy), convection
(air movement), or conduction (direct contact)
Sweat spreads over surface of skin & evaporates =
carries away heat + reduces body temp
b. COLD
Conserved by constriction
Reduces blood flow to the skin
Less heat is transferred from deeper structures to the
skin
Heat loss is reduced
Smaller amts of warm blood = skin temp decrease
Skin temp drops below 150C = dermal blood vessels
dilate
5. Excretion
Minor role
Water + salts + small amts of waste products (urea, uric acid,
ammonia)
Sweat glands do not play a significant role in the excretion of
waste products
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INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM AS A DIAGNOSTIC AID
Observed easily
Reflects events occurring in other parts of the body

BioSci Lec | Jeanne Moroa | 2DPH

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e.g. cyanosis impaired circulatory/respiratory fxn

jaundice liver is damaged by a disease (hepatitis)
rashes & fever (scarlet fever, allergic rxn)
Condition of skin, hair, & nails = nutritional status
e.g. vitamin A skin produces excess keratin; sandpaper texture
iron-deficiency anemia nails lose their normal contour; flat &
concave (spoonshaped)
Hair concentrates many substances that can be detected via lab
analysis & comparison of patients hair w/ normal hair
Said to be unreliable
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BURNS
Injury to a tissue caused by heat, cold, friction, chemicals, electricity,
or radiation
CLASSIFICATIONS
1. Partial-thickness
Part of stratum basale remains viable
Regeneration of epidermis occurs from w/in the burn area & edges
of burn
a. First-degree
Epidermis
Red & painful
Edema (swelling)
Sunburn/brief exposure to very hot or very cold objects
Heal w/o scarring in a week
b. Second-degree
Epidermis & dermis
Redness, pain, edema, & blisters (for minimal dermal
damage)
Healing takes about 2 weeks + no scarring results
Red, tan, or white; several months to heal; might scar (for
deep dermal damage)
Epidermis regenerates from epithelial tissues in hair
follicles, sweat glands & edges of wound
2. Full-thickness
Third-degree
Epidermis & dermis are destroyed
Recovery occurs from the edges of the burn wound
Surrounded by areas of first- & second- degree burns
Painless since sensory receptors have already destroyed
White, tan, brown, black, or deep cherry red
Long time to heal
Form scar tissue w/ disfiguring & debilitating wound contracture
Skin grafts = prevent complications & speed healing
Split skin graft
o Epidermis & part of dermis are removed from another
part of the body
o Placed over the burn

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o Interstitial fluid from burn nourishes the graft until blood

vessels can grow into the graft
o Donor tissue produces new epidermis from epithelial
tissue in hair follicles & sweat glands
Artificial skin/grafts from human cadavers are used mostly (since it
is impractical/impossible to move skin)
Often unsatisfactory = immune system rejects the tissue
Solution: victims own skin is to be grown
New skin: epidermis + no glands/hair

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SKIN CANCER

Most common type

Exposure to UV light
Develop on the face, neck, or hands
Fair-skinned or older than 50

THREE TYPES OF SKIN CANCER

a. Basal cell carcinoma
Most frequent type
Begins w/ cells in the stratum basale
Extends into the dermis to produce an open ulcer
Surgical removal or radiation therapy
Little danger to spread to other areas
b. Squamous cell carcinoma
Cells immediately superficial to stratum basale
Cells continue to divide as the produce keratin
Keratinized tumor confined to the epidermis
Untreated: tumor can invade the dermis, metasize, and cause
death
c. Malignant melanoma
Rare form
Arises from melanocytes
Pre-existing mole
Mole aggregation/nest of melanocytes
Melanoma appear as a large, flat, spreading lesion or a deeply
pigmented nodule
Metastasis common, fatal if undiagnosed & treated early
ULTRAVIOLET RAYS
a. UVA

b. UVB

Longer wavelength
Tanning
Development of malignant melanoma
Most burning of the skin
Development of basal cell & squamous cell carcinomas

Limit exposure to the sun + use sunscreens that block UV light to

reduce skin cancer susceptibility!

BioSci Lec | Jeanne Moroa | 2DPH

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EFFECTS OF AGING ON THE INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM

Epidermis thins
Amt of collagen in the dermis decreases
Skin infections = more likely
Repair of skin = occurs more slowly
Decrease in the number of elastic fibers in the dermis
Loss of adipose tissue from the subcutaneous tissue
Sag &
wrinkle
Decreased activity of sweat glands
Blood supply to the dermis = reduced ability to regulate body temp
Drier = sebaceous gland activity decreases
Melanocytes decrease, but some increase to produce age spots (diff
from freckles)
Freckles increased melanin production
Gray or white hair = decrease or lack of melanin production
Exposed to sunlight = more signs of aging more rapidly than nonexposed skin
Avoid overexposure to sunlight + use sunscreen

BioSci Lec | Jeanne Moroa | 2DPH