Integumentary System: Skin, Sensors, Anatomy & Function - Essay Sample

Introduction

The integumentary system relates to the skin and its appendages. The skin is the largest body organ that accounts for almost 15% of the total body weight (Rice University, 2018). The skin is attached to sensory receptors that enable it to detect temperature, pressure, sensation, and pain. Therefore, the skin is a vital organ that regulates body temperature, excretes waste, and protects the internal body tissues from mechanical damage.

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Anatomical Location and Description

The skin comprises three primary layers: epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis. The epidermis is anterior to the dermis. It consists of melanocytes, basal cells, and squamous cells. On the other hand, the dermis is inferior to the epidermis and superior to the hypodermis (Stanford Children's Health, 2019). The dermis contains nerves, collagen bundles, sweat glands, hair follicles, lymph and blood vessels. Lastly, the hypodermis is posterior to the dermis. It has a subcutaneous fat layer that is characterized by a network of fat and collagen cells.

Type of Cells and Tissues

The epidermis consists of epithelial cells. Epithelial cells lack blood vessels. There are four types of stratified and keratinized epithelial cells: Langerhans cells, Merkel cells, melanocytes, and keratinocytes (Stanford Children's Health, 2019). The keratinocytes are the major cells in the epidermis, and they produce a fibrous protein, keratin.

The dermis is composed of blood vessels, papillary and reticular sublayers. The papillary layer is a superficial layer that has areolar connective tissues while the reticular layer contains dense and irregular connective tissues (Stanford Children's Health, 2019). The two layers are elastic to enable the skin to confer and stretch when it is resisting sagging and distortions. Additionally, the dermal layer has the endings for nerves and blood vessels.

The hypodermis comprises loose, well-vascularized areolar connective tissue. Moreover, it has adipose tissues that store and accumulate fats. The hypodermis is attached to the dermis by the elastin and collagen fibers.

Functions of the Skin

Protection

All the layers of the skin play a fundamental role in protecting the body's tissues and cells from external aggression. Keratinocytes produce keratin that helps in protecting the skin. As a result, the anucleated and keratinized cells serve as the primary defense mechanism against microbes. Besides, the mid acidic skin secretions boost the body's prevention from pathogenic colonization (Stanford Children's Health, 2019). Similarly, lipids secreted from the subcutaneous layer forms a chemical barrier that minimizes water loss when the body is exposed to hot weather conditions. The integumentary system has inherent immune cells that are effective in preventing one from minor infections when they are injured.

Thermoregulation

The sweat glands are essential for thermoregulation purposes especially when one is ill or exercising. During hot weather conditions, the body sweats to enable it to cool down (Rice University, 2018). Conversely, when it is relatively cold the arrector pili muscles contract creating goosebumps that retain the body's warmth.

Chemical Synthesis and Sensation

Nerve endings found on the skin play a vital role in detecting cold, heat, pressure, and touch. The nerve endings assist the body to gauge the intensity and nature of any positive or negative stimuli. Additionally, the skin facilitates melanin production that safeguards the skin against ultraviolet rays from the sun (Rice University, 2018). The melanin prevents the skin from skin cancer and sunburns. However, the skin relies on the skin rays to synthesize vitamin D which improves the bone density and enhances an individual's overall bone health.

Excretion

The skin is one of the main organs that the body uses to excrete its toxic metabolic by-products. It produces sebum and sweat that help in excreting fat soluble metabolites and water respectively (Rice University, 2018). For example, excess vitamin B ingested from various supplements is excreted through sweat and urine.

Homeostasis

The skin plays a crucial in regulating the body temperature due to its close association with the sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system monitors the body temperature constantly to initiate suitable motor responses. It signals the sweat glands to secrete water and other soluble metabolites that initiate a cooling effect when it is hot. Hence, if the body temperature is high due to vigorous exercises or high temperatures, the sympathetic nervous system stimulates the sweat glands to produce a lot of sweat (Muir, 2010). During the evaporation of the sweat from the skin, the body heat dissipates as the body cools down. Furthermore, sweating causes the arterioles to dilate and enhance blood flow so that the excess heat in the blood is dissipated through the skin into the immediate environment.

When the body temperature drops, arterioles contract to reduce heat loss especially at the nose tip and fingertips. Even though the skin's temperature decreases drastically, it prevents passive heat loss and ensures that the internal organs remain warm (Muir, 2010). In case, the skin is exposed to low temperatures, the conservation of heat in the vital body organs causes the skin to freeze.

Prediction

Hyperthermia

Hyperthermia occurs when the body's thermoregulation mechanism fails to regulate elevated body temperatures. As a result, an individual's body produces more heat than its hemostasis process can dissipate. The extreme temperature increase causes a medical emergency that requires immediate treatment to avoid death or disability (Muir, 2010). Some medications' side effects can prompt hyperthermia conditions since they interfere with the central nervous system's heat-regulation process.

Hypothermia

Hypothermia occurs when the body dissipates a massive amount of heat that it can generate leading to a significant decrease in the body's temperature. Mild hypothermia is characterized by mental confusion and shivering once the body temperature is below 35 degrees Celsius (Muir, 2010). If the hypothermia condition is moderate, the shivering might stop but the mental confusion increases. However, when the hypothermia condition is severe, the victim is prone to paradoxical undressing while the risk of their heartbeat stopping increases.

Disease

Albinism refers to a genetic disease that affects the eyes, hair, and skin coloring either partially or wholly. The genetic disorder is usually caused by the melanocytes' inability to produce enough melanin. As a result, persons with albinism have a pale or white appearance due to the little melanin in their hair and skin. Besides, melanin helps in protecting the skin from the detrimental effects associated with the ultraviolet radiations. Persons with the condition are prone to skin cancer and sunburns. Therefore, they have to be safeguarded from the ultraviolet rays (Mayo Clinic, 2019). Conversely, melanin plays a critical role in determining the optic nerves development. For that reason, individuals with albinism have vision problems since their retinal wall lacks pigmentation.

When persons with albinism are exposed to sunlight, some of them develop freckles, pigmented moles, huge lentigines, and sunburns. Medical practitioners have not yet discovered a cure to the genetic ailment but seeking treatment will relieve the symptoms (Mayo Clinic, 2019). Individuals with albinism should limit the exposure of the ultraviolet radiations to their eyes and the skin. Hence, putting on sunglasses, wearing protective attire and applying sunscreen should enable them to protect their eyes and skin from the harmful ultraviolet radiations.

References

Mayo Clinic. (2019). Albinism - Symptoms and causes. Retrieved from www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/albinism/symptoms-causes/syc-20369184

Muir, H. (2010). Thermogeddon: Too hot for humans. New Scientist, 208(2783), 36-39. doi: 10.1016/s0262-4079(10)62649-8

Rice University. (2018). 5.3 Functions of the Integumentary System - Anatomy and Physiology. Retrieved from opentextbc.ca/anatomyandphysiology/chapter/functions-of-the-integumentary-system/

Stanford Children's Health. (2019). Stanford Children's Health: Anatomy of the Skin. Retrieved from www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=anatomy-of-the-skin-85-P01336