Largest organ Skin acts as a waterproof, insulating shield, guarding the body against extremes of temperature, damaging sunlight,

and harmful chemicals. It also exudes antibacterial substances that prevent infection and manufactures vitamin D for converting calcium into healthy bones. Skin additionally is a huge sensor packed with nerves for keeping the brain in touch with the outside world. At the same time, skin allows us free movement, proving itself an amazingly versatile organ

Outermost layer Most of the epidermal cells ultimately differentiate into special cells that contains a tough, fibrous protein ( keratin) holds in fluid and protects raw nerve cells from too much stimulation.

Stratum corneum consist the dead cells - protects underlying tissue from infection, dehydration, chemicals and mechanical stress Stratum lucidum found in areas of thick skin (palms of the hands, soles of the feet) Stratum granulosum - These cells contain keratohyalin granules, protein structures that promote hydration and crosslinking of keratin

Stratum spinosum - This appearance is due to desmosomal connections of adjacent cells. Keratinization begins here. Stratum germinativum - it is here that new cells are generated for the renewal of the epidermal layers of the skin.

The top soil consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain It contains the hair follicles, sweat glands, sebaceous glands,apocrine glands, lymphatic vessels and blood vessels. The blood vessels in the dermis provide nourishment and waste removal from its own cells as well as from the Stratum basale of the epidermis.

Papillary Region - The papillary region is composed of loose areolar connective tissue. This is named for its fingerlike projections called papillae, that extend toward the epidermis. The papillae provide the dermis with a "bumpy" surface that interdigitates with the epidermis, strengthening the connection between the two layers of skin.

Reticular region The reticular region lies deep in the papillary region and is usually much thicker. It is composed of dense irregular connective tissue, and receives its name from the dense concentration of collagenous, elastic, and reticular fibres that weave throughout it. Theseprotein fibres give the dermis its properties of strength, extensibility, and elasticity. Also located within the reticular region are the roots of the hair, sebaceous glands, sweat glands,receptors, nails, and blood vessels.

The epidermis of fish and of most amphibians consists entirely of live cells, with only minimal quantities of keratin in the cells of the superficial layer It is generally permeable, and, in the case of many amphibians, may actually be a major respiratory organ. The dermis of bony fish typically contains relatively little of the connective tissue found in tetrapods. Instead, in most species, it is largely replaced by solid, protective bony scales Cartilaginous fish have numerous toothlike denticles embedded in their skin, in place of true scales.

Fish typically have a numerous individual mucus-secreting skin cells that aid in insulation and protection, but may also have poison glands, photophores, or cells that produce a more watery, serous fluid. In amphibians, the mucus cells are gathered together to form sac-like glands. Most living amphibians also possess granular glands in the skin, that secrete irritating or toxic compounds

In reptiles, amphibians, and fish, the epidermis is often relatively colourless. Instead, the colour of the skin is largely due to chromatophores in the dermis, which, in addition to melanin, may contain guanine or carotenoidpigments

The epidermis of birds and reptiles is closer to that of mammals, with a layer of dead keratin-filled cells at the surface, to help reduce water loss Birds and reptiles have relatively few skin glands, although there may be a few structures for specific purposes, such as pheromone-secreting cells in some reptiles, or the uropygial gland of most birds.

Some chordate skins are permeable, and thus may permit passage either into or out of the body of nitrogenous waste products and carbon dioxide, as well as oxygen, water and ions. Most vertebrates share the common presence of bone formed in the skin, and derivatives of this bone show relationships among different groups of vertebrates.

Feathers and hair develop early in embryonic life. In birds and mammals, ectoderm and mesoderm do not become skin until considerable differentiation has taken place, nor does skin begin to appear uniformly over the entire body

The predominant color (brown) in chordates is a rtesult of a single pigment, Melanin.

 Melanin, produced by special chromatocytes

(melanocytes) located either in the dermis or epidermis or both.  chromatocytes are unusual looking cells with many branclike projections from the main call mass.

Chordates chromatocytes so not arise from skin during development, but come from neural crest cells that have migrated to the skin.

Pigment produced within cells may spread into these branches, which results in darker skin, or may clump at he center, which makes the skin lighter. Types of melanin pigments Carotenoids may also be present in the skin, but are solely of plant origin. (bright orange, yellow and red pigments) Porphyrins fluorescent reds An unusual green either a carotenoid or melanin-type pigment.

Structural properties that separate light into its component colors. The result may be iridescence, colors that change as the viewing angle changes, or noniridescence, colors that do not change with viewing angle. Crystals of the excretory product guanine ( a purine) produce noniridescent bluish to silver color, as in some fish scales. In a few fishes skin structures produce light by oxidation of special light-producing compounds either in cells or by bacteria that live in light organ (photopore)

The main functions of skin color are to camouflage, to war, and to protect underlying cells from ultraviolet light. Its presence in the outermost layers of epidermis seems to protect ultraviolet (UV) light-sensitive nuclear material of living cells beneath and to prevent the decomposition by light of nutrients in the skin.

Among chordates only amphioxus has just a single layer of relatively unspecialized epidermal cells. A thin noncellular surface layer (cuticle)that is secreted by epidermal cells covers epidermal cells.

 Cuticle is a mucous (prroteoglycan) material secreted by special epidermal cells, g\held inplace and strenghtened, perhaps by the presence of microcilli that proteject from the cells

Amphioxus larvae have epidermal cilia, but these are lost with further development, after which a cuticle forms. Fibers have been identified within the epidermal cells of adult amphioxus, which probably are the durable protective keratin fibers.

The dermis, consisting of an outer layer of fibers, apparently collagen, probably produced by fibroblasts of the mesodermal connective tissue on which it lies. The fiber layer itself may be composed of one or more layers of fibers each (if several are present) that lie oriented at about 90 degrees to the next and with branhes penetrating the layer below. Below the fiber layer is characterized by a noncellular, amorphous, gellike material that contains fiber bundles that project from the fiber layer above, and nerve fibers.

All vertebrates have a stratified epidermis, and a dermis of variable complexity. The epidermis cells contains filaments (often keratin) that strengthen the epidermis and help prevent damage from abrasion. The dermis contains many fibers,which gives skin its toughness.

Under the dermis proper is a network of collagen fibers that anchors the skin to underlying tissues (usually to the covering o f muscles), and frequently, an accumulation of fat storage cells. The dermis contains an ample supply of blood vessels for cell nourishment and as a reservoir for controlling blood pressure, and except for cyclostomes, lymphatic vessels also penetrate this region.

The epidermis is thick, with four or five cell levels, the lowermost two of which represent the generative layer responsible fore producing the outer cell levels. In hagfishes the skin contains multicellular slime glands in the dermis, but derived from the epidermal layer.

Dermal bones seems most likely to have functioned in mechanical protection, but it may have originated as a means to store calcium or phosphate for metabolic use. Although most jawless fishes had extensive amounts of dermal bone, some had little or none at all. In some the bones formed as elongated and overlapping scales that corresponded to the muscle segments of the body. In one (Jamoytius), the scales were so thin and flexible that they may not have contained any bone at all.

The placoderms, as their name Plate skin suggests, had an extensive covering of bony plates, particularly in the head and shoulder regions. This armor usually consisted of a dense, basal lamellar bone, a middle section of spongy bone, and an outer, layered bone that included a dentinelike material in primitive placoderms, which may have had small tubercules or ridges projecting outward. Most placoderms had dermal bones that was similar to the bone of primitive jawless fishes, although the dentinelike layer was often restricted to the tubercules rater than to the entire surface of the plate.

In some cases the plate that formed at the margins of the jaws were modified into elongated shearing blades of toothplates. The ptyctodontids, similar and possibly related to present-day chimaeras, were unusual among placoderms in that they had a much-reduced covering of dermal bone.

The epidermis of cartilaginous fishes is multilayered and is composed of several types of cells that includes mucous and sensory cells. Several types of glands are found among cartilaginous fishes: mucuos cells, multicellular venom glands near spines and multicellular mucous cells near the clasper in males.

The dermis, which is a double-layered strucutre, contains dermal bones specialized scales (denticles) and also numerous blood vessels and nerves. The dermal denticles apparently developed from tubercules such as those on placoderm plates. Denticles are similar to many vertebrates teeth, once denticles reach maturity they do not grow, eventually they may be worn down and lost. The soft dermis is very tough because of the connective tissue collagen fibers secreted by the mesodermal cells.

The innermost layer of the dermis, consist of multiple layers of collagen fiber helices that encircle the body at specific angles (about 45 to 70 degrees for sharks) to the long axis of the fish, the angle depending in part on the region considered. Fiber layers alternate between right and left-tending helices, which resemble the single-layered fabric of cloth. The innermost fiber layer is attached to the locomotor muscles beneath.

The scales of early the early actinopterygians had several layers of a noncellular, nonvascular, enamelike material (ganoin)without canal and with a low organic component. Beneath the ganoin layer was a layer of dentine that was different from the dentinelike material (cosmine) of earlier fishes in that the canals were branched. Beneath the dentine layer were two thick layers of bone. Only a few highly specialized fishes of this group (teleosts) have other types of scales. This includes the seahorse, in which the body has scales modified into erectile spines that prevent it from being swallowed by a predator.

Because the land environment presents such hostlie conditions to exposed cells, the external boundary layers must be appropriately protected. The cellular machinery that brings about some of this protection was already present in early vertebrates, in the organelled that deposited the fibrous protein keratin in epidermal cells, and in the glands that produced a mucous coat over the skin. Epidermal secretions may come from adhesive glands (in the young), mucous cells, multicellular mucousglands, granular cells and multicellular granular glands.

Increased production of Keratin in the cells of the outer layers of epidermis. The buildup of heavy deposits of keratin fibers in the epidermis may affect the ability of the skin to participate in the activities, and so terrestrialization involved much more than simple skin modifications. No amphibian is totally adapted to a terrestrial habitat. Because amphibians have different degrees of terrestrial adaptation, they exhibit many variations in skin structure, particularly of the epidermis.

The skin must be adapted to the requirements of the bearer, so aquatic young require quite different skin structure than their more terrestrial parents. Keratinization does not occur to any great extent in the larval skin except in localized regions such as around the mouth, where the tough durable keratin acts to strengthen epidermal toothlike structures.

Terrestrial amphibians especially toads, are serous glands that secrete irritating or toxic alkaloids or pheromones Pheromones are substances that when secreted into the environment, it will have an effect on the behavior or physiology of other organisms usually members of the same species Most of the glands are holocrine, meaning the cells constitute the secretion instead of simply manufacturing

The outer layer of epidermis, which had become heavily keratinized in amphibians, became much thicker in reptiles and was modified into heavily keratinized scales or plates and other structures. The outer layer of epidermis, which is composed of dead cells, is shed as flakes or larger pieces. The generative basal layer continues to form new cells that gradually fill with keratin and move peripherally to become part of a new horny layer.

During the shedding or molting of the skin in many reptiles , the old, outer, horny layer separates from newly formed epidermis. This separation is aided by the diffusion of fluids (lymph) between the layers, by roughened areas formed on outer surface of the new keratinized cell layer and by abrupt changes in blood pressure, particularly in the head region where shedding of the horny layer begins. The epidermal scales vary among the different groups of reptiles; they may be small plates to large shields composed of sheets of keratinized cells. Or small scales of loosely aggregated cells.

The stratum corneum of the reptiles become scaly, protecting against abrasion, also for offense, defense & thermoregulation Keratinization provides protection against dessication Snakes also have epiderman scales on the belly for the used of locomotion The stratum corneum of lizards flakes off in large patches and in the snakes, the outer layer of the entire body including the spectacle is sked in one piece Crocodilians & turtles dont molt, their stratum corneum just wears off gradually

The most characteristic of all skin structures of birds are the feathers.  Feathers:  Usually considered to be derived from the scales of reptilian ancestors  which may vary in slender, simple hairlike filaments to complex flight feathers  often considered to be the single key feature that signifies bird  in complexity they range from simple hairlike (filoplumes) and bristlelike to stiff, multibranched, contour feathers  by their intricate structure, trap airand hold it close to the body, which provides insulation

the oil gland (uropygial gland) located on the dorsal skin of the tail. small sebaceouslike glands are found in the ear region other glands in the anal canal except for feathers, over most of a birds body the epidermis is thin, usually 2 or 3 cells deep the keratinized outer layer is often quite soft, resembles the outer areas of skin in crocodilians

The skin of a bird (the domestic chicken, Gallus)

the dermis of birds is similar in basic structure to that reptiles and even more primitive vertebrates  blood and lymphatic vessels, nerves and epidermally derived sensory bodies, and collagen and elastic fibers are present


The skin is ideally situated to help to maintain temperature. Blood, which reaches the skin by way of dermal vessels, brings heat to the boundary, where it can escape. Smooth muscles of blood vessels controls the flow of blood to the surface.

Mammals in general maintain within narrow limits a relatively high body temperature, and their skins have become adapted in several ways to regulate heat gain and loss. Hairs is the most obvious structures of mammalian skin and may have evolved originally as tactile bristles. Composed of closely adhering, heavily keratinized epidermal cells (dead, except basally) produced by follicles of the epidermis that extend into the dermis. Reptilian scales are composed of -keratin & -keratin whereas mammalian epidermis and epidermal scales contain keratin only.

the outer layer is more completely keratinized the cells directly under the outer layer contain obvious granular structures of complex composition that are not seen in non-mammalian vertebrates a lipid present in the outer keratinized layer of cells acts as a barrier to the entry of materials, especially water, and is extruded by living cells just below the outer layer into spaces between the keratinized cells

Early mammalian embryos have a three-layered epidermis: 1. a single-cell-thick generative layer 2. an intermediate, nonkeratinized layer one or two cells thick 3. an outer layer (periderm), which is one cell thick, and bears microvilli and possibly a cuticle In the immature mammal, the skin must grow to accommodate a body of increasing size. In adult mammals the epidermis is most complex in exposed regions of the skin that lack hair, especially the soles of the feet. Among mammals the thickness of the epidermis varies greatly, ranging from a thin two or three cells. Mammals with a thickened epidermis usually also have a thick keratinized layer, but in humans the keratinized layer is quite thin, possibly related to increased tactile sensitivity.

Sebaceous gland - commonly associated with hair follicles and like all skin glands, develops from cells of the basal generative layer of epidermis - the glandular cells release their products only on complete cell breakdown (holocrine secretion) - the possible primary function is communication by odor of component molecules Sweat gland - produce watery to viscous secretions - the glands are simple tubes that are coiled and convoluted at their deeper ends & straightened yet undulating as they approach the surface & are not associated with hair follicles, but exit directly at the skin surface - the glands are abundant on the palms & soles of primates and marsupials

Mammary Glands - the number & location of these glands vary, & some variation occurs within species & even from side to side in an individual Adult male monotremes & eutherian mammals have mammary glands that may produce milk under appropriate hormonal conditions. Marsupials also develop mammary glands only on the abdomen, but these have nipples; they completely disappear in male marsupials. Numerous sensory structures are associated with mammalian skin. Sensitivity to touch, vibration, heat & cold, changes in local blood supply, and pain are all notes for specific receptors.

- the mammalian skin has a matrix (a viscous fluid gel of proteoglycans) into which numerous collagen & elastic fibers have been deposited Collagen fibers - arranged in a more or less random manner throughout the matrix - the random arrangements provide also in resistance to puncture & shearing forces  Elastin fibers - are present just below the epidermis - provide sufficient elasticity to allow stretched skin to return to its original condition

The attachment of dermis to underlying tissues varies with skin function. The noncellular layer (basal lamina) contributed by basal epidermal cells and possibly by outer dermal cells seems to act as an adhesive to hold the epidermis to the dermis. Beneath the dermis is a layer of fat (adipose) cells that becomes a principal fat storage depot in mammals & acts as padding & insulation.

An exoskeleton is the external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body. Exoskeletons contain rigid and resistant components that fulfill a set of functional roles including protection, excretion, sensing, support, feeding and acting as a barrier against desiccation in terrestrial organisms. Exoskeletons have a role in defense from pests and predators, support, and in providing an attachment framework for musculature.

Many produce exoskeletons, which are composed of a range of materials. Bone, cartilage, or dentine is used in the Ostracoderm fish and turtles.

Chitin forms the exoskeleton in arthropods including insects, arachnids such as spiders, crustaceans such as crabs and lobsters, and in some fungi and bacteria.

Some animals, such as the tortoise, have both an endoskeleton and an exoskeleton.

The shells of the various groups of shelled mollusks, including those of snails, clams, tusk shells, chitons and nautilus, are also exoskeletons.

Role of the exoskeleton Exoskeletons contain rigid and resistant components that fulfill a set of functional roles including protection, excretion, sensing, support, feeding and acting as a barrier against desiccation in terrestrial organisms. Exoskeletons have a role in defense from pests and predators, support, and in providing an attachment framework for musculature. Exoskeletons contain chitin and when calcium carbonate is added, the exoskeleton grows in strength and hardness.

Growth in an exoskeleton Since exoskeletons are rigid, they present some limits to growth. A true exoskeleton, like that found in in arthropods must be shed (molted) when they are outgrown. Failure to shed the exoskeleton once outgrown can result in the animal being suffocated within its own shell, and will stop subadults from reaching maturity, thus preventing them from reproducing.