Introduction to Integumentary System

Hello Readers!!!!!!!

Today, I will write an introduction article to the Integumentary System of our body. Integumentary System is protective layer of our body, i.e., the skin, the Integumentary System consists of the Skin. It account for about 6% of the total body weight.

The above diagram shows a brief view of the Integumentary System. I will tell you about some of the cells in the Integumentary System and also the three main parts of the body. The skin is mainly divided into three parts:

1. Epidermis.
2. Dermis.
3. Subcutaneous Layer or Hyperdermis.

Epidermis is the most superficial layer of the human skin which protects us and separates the internal environment of the body from the external environment.

The above image shows the Epidermis. The Epidermis is like the army of the skin which defends the boundaries of the human body. As this article is a brief discussion on the Epidermis, I will just give you a review over the parts of Epidermis. The Epidermis is made up of different cells named Keratinocytes, Melanocytes, Merkel Cell, and Langerhans Cells. The keratinocytes are the cells that make up a protein named Keratin, which is an important protein which provides strength to the skin. Next comes the Melanocytes, these cells are the cells that secrete a substance named Melanin, Melanin is a substance which gives your skin the color and this melanin also protects the Nucleus of the Keratinocytes from the Ultra Violet (UV) Rays of the sun. This UV rays can damage the DNA of the nucleus of the cells as it changes the genetic information in them. But the Melanocytes are sometimes mostly themselves damaged due to UV light.

The Merkel Cells are the cells that are joined to the nerve endings of the neurons that are connected at the base of the Epidermis. The Merkel Cells are sensitive to touch and without them, we cannot feel the touch of any person or any other thing.

The Langerhans Cells work like the Police in the Epidermis as they prevent any Microbial Invasions in our body by secreting several antibodies which fight against them. This Cells actually arise from the B Lymphocyte in the bone and then travel to the Epidermis in order to protect it from infections by microbes.

There are also several layers of the Epidermis namely Stratum Basale, Stratum Spinosum, Stratum Granulosum, Stratum Luicidum, Stratum Corneum. The Stratum Basale comes at the last and the Stratum Corneum is superficial, i.e., it is located at the outermost part of the skin.The below picture shows some information about it:

The Stratum Corneum which is the superficial layer contains dead Keratinocytes which are not at all functional now, they die because the supply of blood vessels is more at the Basale layer and as the cells go away from their nutrient supply that is the blood vessels, they eventually die. In the Stratum Granulosum, the Keratinocytes start producing Lamellar granules which provide strength to the Layers of the Epidermis.

Now let's talk about the Dermis, the Dermis has two layer namely Papillary region and the reticular region.

The papillary region is the region that is the superficial layer of the dermis and this part contains the dermal papillae. The dermal papillae is shown in the below image:

The dermal Papillae bulges out as shown in the above diagram an the bulges and just underneath the Epidermis. This increases the surface area and thus allowing the Epidermis to fix very well with the Dermis. The number of dermal papillae varies from place to place. They also contain the Capillaries which provide the blood to the Epidermis. It also has the Meissner Corpuscles, this are the nerve ending located in the Dermis that are sensitive to touch. The Papillary region can also be thick in some regions and can be thin in some areas.

The next layer is the Reticular region which is just located inferior(below) the Papillary region. The reticular region anchors almost all types of things such as hair etc. that arise from it. This layer of the dermis has a net like structure of the fibres in it and in between the spaces in the net like formation, the hair and other things have their roots.

Now, let's talk about the Subcutaneous Layer or it is also known as Hypodermis. This layer is the layer that contains some oil glands and also some of the adipose tissues, i.e., the tissues that contain the fats. It also serves as the protector of the bone and the muscle from the shocks as the adipose tissue absorbs it. It also has the lamellated corpuscles that are the nerve endings that are sensitive to the pressure.

This three layer are the layers that constitute the Integumentary System.

Thanks for reading this article and sorry for any type of mistakes I made in the article.
Comments are appreciated.
Have a good day!!!!!!!!!!!