The structure of the skin

The skin is composed of two main layers: a thin outer layer, known as the epidermis and a thicker inner layer, called
the dermis.
The epidermis, a protective layer without blood vessels and nerves, is built up of flat cells of the epithelium. The cells
of the epidermis reproduce themselves rapidly in its deepest layer and move up to the surface where they form a protective
layer of dead cells. These dead cells are continually being lost and replaced by new ones. This process is known as
keratinization. The body produces and loses a great amount of these epithelial cells every day. The cells of the epidermis
contain pigment, melanin which gives the skin the colour. The hereditary factors decide whether the skin is lighter or
darker in colour, and also sunlight causes the increase in melanin concentration, which protects the skin from harmful
ultraviolet sun rays. In certain parts of the body the epidermis is modified to produce hair and nails. Hair grows on all the
body surface, except the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.

The dermis, which consists mainly of elastic connective tissue, is much thicker than the epidermis. A network of blood
vessels, lymph vessels and nerves runs through the dermis. The dermis forms lines characteristic for each person, called
fingerprints. The dermis contains the glands, such as sweat glands, mammary glands, and sebaceous glands which produce
oil to make the skin and hair elastic.

Below the dermis, there is a layer of subcutaneous tissue, which contains mainly the fat.

EXERCISE. Answer the following questions.

What are the names of the main layers of the skin?
What is the epidermis made up of?
Where are the epidermal cells produced?
What tissue is the dermis composed of?
What structures does the dermis contain?
What lies below the dermis?
FUNCTIONS OF THE SKIN AND ITS DISEASES

The skin provides protection from damage and entry of bacteria, regulates temperature; it is also an excretory and
sensory organ.
Physical protection from damage is provided mainly by the epidermis. Thickness of the subcutaneous tissue also plays
an important role in protecting against some injury. The skin acts as a barrier against the entry of microorganisms, protects
the body against chemicals in the environment and ultraviolet rays in the sunlight.
The skin acts like a waterproof coat for the body, preventing rapid absorption or evaporation of water and electrolytes
at the surface of the body. In this way it helps to keep the quantity of water in the body constant. However, small amounts
of water continuously evaporate from the skin surface. Through this process which is called perspiration the body loses
500 ml of water a day.
Regulation of temperature is a very important function of the skin. The skin contains a great number of sweat glands,
which excrete sweat. The sweat consists of 95% (per cent) of water, 2% of dissolved salts, a small quantity of urea and
about 3% of carbon dioxide. In hot temperature or great muscular activity the sweat flows as fluid on the surface of the
skin, which is cooled by its evaporation. By means of perspiration the body eliminates excessive amount of fluid and
some salts, which maintains mineral balance of the body.
The skin is a delicate sensory organ providing information about the environment. Millions of nerve endings located
in the skin are sensitive to various stimuli: touch, pain, pressure, heat, cold and itching. Another special function of the
skin is secretion of ear wax by the external ear and sebum or oil by sebaceous glands.
The skin is exposed to more injuries than any other organ of the body. It is affected by many types of infections:
bacterial, viral, fungal, as well as infections with parasites, such as scabies. Skin cancer, the most common of which is
skin melanoma, usually begins as a dark mole. It is frequently triggered by excessive exposure to the sun rays. Skin
allergy and irritation by harmful chemicals cause many kinds of dermatitis (or eczema) which are the commonest of all
occupational diseases. Acne, which is common in adolescence, is a condition of overactivity of sebaceous glands.
Psoriasis is a chronic skin disorder that causes an overproduction of epithelial cells. Skin lesions are classified as primary
or secondary. Primary lesions, which do not cause a break in the skin, comprise: acne, rash, eczema, furuncle, erythema
and dermatomycosis. Secondary lesions, which break the skin include: crusts and fissures caused by dermatitis,
excoriations and ulcers.

Exercise 1 Find words in the text that mean:

1. fungal infection of skin

2. located under the dermis
3. harm or damage
4. a region in an organ or tissue which has suffered damage such as a wound, ulcer, abscess, or tumour
5. the process of turning from liquid into vapour
6. more than is necessary, normal, or desirable; immoderate;
7. an organism which lives in or on another organism (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the other's
expense;
8. a thing or event that evokes a specific functional reaction in an organ or tissue;
9. a small, often slightly raised blemish on the skin made dark by a high concentration of melanin;
10. cause (an event or situation) to happen or exist;
11. a contagious skin disease marked by itching and small raised red spots, caused by the itch mite;
12. skin inflammation;
13. the period following the onset of puberty during which a young person develops from a child into an adult;
14. a medical condition in which patches of skin become rough and inflamed with blisters which cause itching and
bleeding;
15. an inflamed pus-filled swelling on the skin, caused typically by the infection of a hair follicle;
16. superficial reddening of the skin, usually in patches, as a result of injury or irritation causing dilatation of the
blood capillaries;
17. an open sore on an external or internal surface of the body, caused by a break in the skin or mucous membrane
which fails to heal;
18. damage or removal of part of the skin surface;
19. scab; a hardened covering of dried secretions (as blood, plasma, or pus) that forms over a wound;
20. cerumen; the yellow secretion from the glands of the external ear;

EXERCISE 2 Answer the following questions.

1. What are the main functions of the skin?
2. Which layers of the skin play an important role in protecting from injury?
3. What is sweat excreted by?
4. How is the body temperature regulated?
5. What stimuli are nerve endings sensitive to?
6. What are other special functions of the skin?
 EXERCISE 3 Define the following terms.
Sweat .........................................................
Perspiration ................................................
Waterproof .................................................
Acne ...........................................................
Psoriasis .....................................................
Skin melanoma .........................................
Primary lesions ..........................................
Secondary lesions ......................................

Exercise 4 Use the words from the box to complete the text.

sunlight; outermost; damage; hair follicle; structures; replaced; perception; supplies; visible; keratin; lubricates;
radiation; texture; fat;

Like the eyes, the skin is a readily .................... reflection of one’s health. Its color, .................... , and resilience reveal
much, as does the condition of the hair and nails. The skin and its associated .................... make up the integumentary
system. This body-covering system protects against infection, dehydration, ultraviolet .................... , and injury.
Extensive .................... to the skin, such as by burns, can result in a host of dangerous complications. The skin also
serves in temperature regulation and sensory .................... . The adjective cutaneous refers to the skin.

The .................... portion of the skin is the epidermis, consisting of 4 to 5 layers (strata) of epithelial cells. The deepest
layer, the stratum basale, or basal layer, produces new cells. As these cells gradually rise toward the surface, they die
and become filled with .................... , a protein that thickens and toughens the skin. The outermost (horny) layer of the
epidermis, the stratum corneum, is composed of flat, dead, protective cells that are constantly being shed and
.................... . Some of the cells in the epidermis produce melanin, a pigment that gives color to the skin and protects
against ....................
The dermis is beneath the epidermis. It is composed of connective tissue, nerves, blood vessels, and lymphatics. This
layer .................... support and nourishment for the skin. The subcutaneous tissue beneath the dermis is composed
mainly of connective tissue and .................... .
The sudoriferous (sweat) glands act mainly in temperature regulation by releasing a watery fluid that evaporates to cool
the body.
The sebaceous glands release an oily fluid, sebum, that .................... the hair and skin and prevents drying.
Hair is widely distributed over the body. Each hair develops within a sheath or .................... and grows from its base
within the deep layers of the skin. Both hair and nails function in protection. Each nail develops from a growing region
at its proximal end. Hair and nails are composed of nonliving material consisting mainly of keratin.

Ex 5 Listening

Skin cancer happens when _______________________________________________

There are 3 types of skin cancer:
1_______________ which is characterized by (main features):
a/_________________________________________
b/__________________________________________
c/___________________________________________
d/___________________________________________
2_______________ which is characterized by (main features):
a/_________________________________________
b/__________________________________________
c/___________________________________________
3 _______________ which is characterized by (main features):
a/_________________________________________
b/__________________________________________
c/___________________________________________
d/___________________________________________
What are the following?
1. Pertaining to the skin (from Latin cutis, meaning “skin”)
2. The layer of the skin between the epidermis and the subcutaneous tissue; the true skin or corium;
3. The outermost layer of the skin (from epi-, meaning “upon or over” and derm, meaning “skin”);
4. A threadlike keratinized outgrowth from the skin (root trich/o);
5. The sheath in which a hair develops;
6. The skin and its associated glands, hair, and nails;
7. A protein that thickens and toughens the skin and makes up hair and nails (root kerat/o);
8. A dark pigment that gives color to the hair and skin and protects the skin against the sun’s radiation (root
melan/o);
9. A platelike keratinized outgrowth of the skin that covers the dorsal surface of the terminal phalanges (root
onych/o);
10. A gland that produces sebum; usually associated with a hair follicle (root seb/o);
11. A fatty secretion of the sebaceous glands that lubricates the hair and skin (root seb/o);
12. The tissue that covers the body; the integument (root derm/o, dermat/o);
13. The layer of tissue beneath the skin; also called the hypodermis;
14. A sweat gland (root hidr/o, idr/o);

What is the meaning of the following combining forms?

adip(o)/ lip(o) leuk(o)

derm(o)/ melan(o)
dermat(o)
erythr(o) myc(o)
hidr(o) onych(o)
kerat(o) scler(o)
trich(o) seb(o)

Define the following words:

hypodermis
hypomelanosis
seborrheic
keratogenous
anidrosis
hyponychium
hypertrichosis

Fill in the blanks:

Dermatopathology refers to any disease of the
Dyskeratosis is an abnormality in the skin’s formation of
A melanocyte is a cell that produces
Hidradenitis is inflammation of a gland that produces
Trichoid means resembling a(n)
Onychomycosis is a fungal infection of a(n)
A hypodermic injection is given under the
Write a word for each of the following definitions:
study of the skin and skin diseases
inflammation of the skin
formation (-genesis) of keratin
a tumor containing melanin
abnormally low production of sweat
study of the hair
softening of a nail
instrument for cutting the skin
SKIN REVISION
1. What are the other names?

other name/s other name/s

adipose tissue sweat gland
dermis oil gland
cornified layer milk gland
scab cerumen
hypodermis perspiration

2. What are the following? Please write the correct names next to the definitions.
1. a horny covering on the upper surface of the tip of the finger and toe;
2. the outermost layer of the skin
3. a dark pigment that gives color to the hair and skin and protects the skin against the sun’s radiation;
4. the thin tissue forming the outer layer of a body's surface;
5. the sheath in which a hair develops;
6. to turn from liquid into vapour;
7. able to be seen;
8. the feel or appearance of a surface or a substance;
9. opening of a sweat duct
3. Please define:
dermis

hypodermis

integumentary system

dehydration

capillary
4. Make nouns
to abrade to infect to act
to nourish to prevent to perceive
to distribute to replace to store
5. What are the synonyms:
to nourish to convert
to distribute constantly
to reveal stratum
constituent to increase
excoriation to trigger

6. What do the following mean? Divide the words into roots and give their meanings.
eg. osteopenia
deficinecy of bone tissue
hypomelanosis

trichology

onychomalacia

anhidrosis

melanocyte

dermatitis

dermatomycosis

7. What are the following?

a highly malignant tumour of melanin-forming cells
a condition characterised by an overactivity of oil glands, common in
adolescene
a chronic skin disease that causes an overproduction of epithelial cells;
superficial reddening of the skin, usually in patches, as a result of injury or
irritation causing dilatation of the blood capillaries;
an inflamed pus-filled swelling on the skin, caused typically by the
infection of a hair follicle;
an open sore on an external or internal surface of the body, caused by a
break in the skin or mucous membrane which fails to heal

8. Give plural
virus bacterium fungus
stimulus stratum impulse