Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Skin appendages (or adnexa of skin) are anatomical skin-associated structures that serve a particular function including sensation, contractility, lubrication and heat loss in animals.
The epidermis, "epi" coming from the Greek language meaning "over" or "upon", is the outermost layer of the skin. It forms the waterproof, protective wrap over the body's surface, which also serves as a barrier to infection and is made up of stratified squamous epithelium with an underlying basal lamina.
The primary function of keratinocytes is the formation of a barrier against environmental damage by heat, UV radiation, dehydration, pathogenic bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses.
The epidermis is the outermost of the three layers that comprise the skin, the inner layers being the dermis and hypodermis. [1] The epidermal layer provides a barrier to infection from environmental pathogens [2] and regulates the amount of water released from the body into the atmosphere through transepidermal water loss.
This type of connective tissue is found mostly in the reticular layer (or deep layer) of the dermis. [3] It is also in the sclera and in the deeper skin layers. Due to high portions of collagenous fibers, dense irregular connective tissue provides strength, making the skin resistant to tearing by stretching forces from different directions.
The word skin originally only referred to dressed and tanned animal hide and the usual word for human skin was hide. Skin is a borrowing from Old Norse skinn "animal hide, fur", ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *sek-, meaning "to cut" (probably a reference to the fact that in those times animal hide was commonly cut off to be used as garment).
A sebaceous gland or oil gland [1] is a microscopic exocrine gland in the skin that opens into a hair follicle to secrete an oily or waxy matter, called sebum, which lubricates the hair and skin of mammals. [2]
This page was last edited on 22 November 2011, at 05:34 (UTC).; Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License; additional terms may apply.