The Integumentary System

By: Noah Richardson

What is the Integumentary System?

• Washable, waterproof, germproof and self-repairing
• Front line of defense for protecting our fragile insides
• Includes:
  • ​Skin (Integument)
  • Its appendages
    • Hair​
    • Nails
    • Certain glands

Hair Follicle

*Image of hair in relation to other epidermal and dermal structures of the skin*

Functions

• Protection of inner body structures
  • Migration and shedding
  • Repairing wounds by having cell replacement mechanisms
  • Langerhan's cells: cells within epidermis that help the immune response; help lymphocytes process antigens
• Sensory perception
  • Sensory nerve fibers in the nerve roots
• Regulation of body temperature (Thermoregulation)
  • Helps maintain internal body temperature of 98.6 degress Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius)                                          
  • Nerves, blood vessels, and eccrine (sweat) glands within the dermis
  • Cold- blood vessels constrict, decrease blood flow; Warm- arteries dilate, increase blood flow, reducing body heat
• Excretion of some body fluids
  • ​Sweat- water, electrolytes, urea, lactic acid
• Synthesis of Vitamin D
  • ​Protection against UV radiation

Fun Facts on the Integumentary System

1. Takes up to 6 months for a baby to develop its permanent skin tone
2. The skin has its own microbiome of over 1,000 species and around 1 billion individual bacteria
3. An average adult's skin length is about 21 square feet, weighs 9 pounds, and holds more than 11 miles of blood vessels
4. The skin on your mouth is 200 times more sensitive than the skin on your fingertips
5. A blind person's visual cortex is rewired to respond to stimuli received through touch and hearing, so they can literally "see" the world by touch and sound