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Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings , such as the arthropod exoskeleton , have different developmental origin , structure and chemical composition .
Micrograph of keratinocytes, basal cells and melanocytes in the epidermis Keratinocytes (stained green) in the skin of a mouse. Keratinocytes are the primary type of cell found in the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin. In humans, they constitute 90% of epidermal skin cells. [1]
In structure, it consists of a keratinized stratified squamous epithelium; four types of cells: keratinocytes, melanocytes, Merkel cells, and Langerhans cells. The predominant cell keratinocyte , which produces keratin , a fibrous protein that aids in skin protection, is responsible for the formation of the epidermal water barrier by making and ...
These skin cells finally become the cornified layer (stratum corneum), the outermost epidermal layer, where the cells become flattened sacks with their nuclei located at one end of the cell. After birth these outermost cells are replaced by new cells from the stratum granulosum and throughout life they are shed at a rate of 30 - 90 milligrams ...
However, the structure of the skin has evolved to aid animals in their different modes of locomotion. Soft bodied animals such as starfish rely on the arrangement of the fibers in their tube feet for movement. Eels, snakes, and fish use their skin like an external tendon to generate the propulsive forces need for undulatory locomotion.
In complex multicellular organisms, cells specialize into different cell types that are adapted to particular functions. In mammals, major cell types include skin cells, muscle cells, neurons, blood cells, fibroblasts, stem cells, and others. Cell types differ both in appearance and function, yet are genetically identical.
The cells of meristematic tissue are similar in structure and have a thin and elastic primary cell wall made of cellulose. They are compactly arranged without inter-cellular spaces between them. Each cell contains a dense cytoplasm and a prominent cell nucleus. The dense protoplasm of meristematic cells contains very few vacuoles.
The subcutaneous tissue (from Latin subcutaneous 'beneath the skin'), also called the hypodermis, hypoderm (from Greek 'beneath the skin'), subcutis, or superficial fascia, [2] is the lowermost layer of the integumentary system in vertebrates. [3] The types of cells found in the layer are fibroblasts, adipose cells, and macrophages.