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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 .
The actual skin colour of different humans is affected by many substances, although the single most important substance determining human skin colour is the pigment melanin. Melanin is produced within the skin in cells called melanocytes and it is the main determinant of the skin colour of darker-skinned humans.
The human stratum corneum comprises several levels of flattened corneocytes that are divided into two layers: the stratum disjunctum and stratum compactum. The skin's protective acid mantle and lipid barrier sit on top of the stratum disjunctum. [5] The stratum disjunctum is the uppermost and loosest layer of skin.
It forms the outermost layer of the skin and the inner lining of the mouth, esophagus and vagina. [2] In the epidermis of skin in mammals, reptiles, and birds, the layer of keratin in the outer layer of the stratified squamous epithelial surface is named the stratum corneum. Stratum corneum is made up of squamous cells which are keratinized and ...
In humans, they constitute 90% of epidermal skin cells. [1] Basal cells in the basal layer ( stratum basale ) of the skin are sometimes referred to as basal keratinocytes . [ 2 ] Keratinocytes form a barrier against environmental damage by heat , UV radiation , water loss , pathogenic bacteria , fungi , parasites , and viruses .
Some skin secretions are associated with body hair. Skin secretions originate from glands that in dermal layer of the epidermis. Sweat, a physiological aid to body temperature regulation, is secreted by eccrine glands. Sebaceous glands secrete the skin lubricant sebum. Sebum is secreted onto the hair shaft and it prevents the hair from splitting.
Histologic image showing a section of epidermis. Stratum basale labeled near bottom. The stratum basale (basal layer, sometimes referred to as stratum germinativum) is the deepest layer of the five layers of the epidermis, the external covering of skin in mammals. The stratum basale is a single layer of columnar or cuboidal basal cells.
Merkel cells are found in the skin and some parts of the mucosa of all vertebrates. In mammalian skin, they are clear cells found in the stratum basale [2] [3] (at the bottom of sweat duct ridges) of the epidermis approximately 10 μm in diameter. They are oval-shaped mechanoreceptors essential for light touch sensation and found in the skin of ...