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Integumentary System Research Paper

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The Integumentary System
The Integumentary System of the human body is remarkable and exciting. It is an organ system that covers approximately 20 square feet of protection for the other organ systems of the body. Let’s take a trip through the land of integumentary, making stops along the way. We will visit the different parts of this system and become familiar with their parts and functions.
SKIN
The first stop on our trip is the skin. The skin forms a barrier of protection, and a first line of defense. Hair and nails are projections of the skin that protect it from damage. There are three layers of skin, the epidermis, dermis and the hypodermis. The epidermis is made of specialized cells with very distinct duties, like soldiers in the military. The keratinocytes which make up 90% , produce and store keratin. The …show more content…

Another accessory organ of the skin, nails protect the fingers and toes and give dexterity. Nails are divided into three parts: the root, body and free edge. The root is under the surface of the skin, the body is the part you can see and the free edge is the part that extends out from the edge. The nail body rest on what is called a bed, which is a layer of dermis and epidermis. This layer has capillaries which provide support to the nail body. Keratinocytes grow out from the bed to the free edge.
GLANDS
Our last stop on the tour is the glands. There are three types of glands in the skin: sudoriferous glands, sebaceous glands and ceruminous glands. These glands perform two major purposes: to regulate body temperature through sweating and to protect the skin from bacterial and fungal infections through the production of sebum. Sebum also is a lubricant for hair follicles and the skins surface. Ceruminous glands are only located in the dermis of the ear canals were they produce cerumen. This cerumen is a waxy secretion that protects the ear canal from foreign bodies while also lubricating it.

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