Functions of the integumentary system

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RESEARCH (Label this section)

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CRITICAL THINKING (Label this section)

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Research
The skin and accessory structures protect the body from pathogens, toxins, and other external elements, as well as avoiding dehydration, acting as a sensory organ, adjusting body temperature and electrolyte balance, and generating vitamin D. Important functions of the underlying hypodermis include storing lipids, acting as a “cushion” over underlying structures, and acting as a barrier against cold temperatures. The skin shields the remainder of the body from UV radiation, wind, and other natural factors. Because the stratum corneum contains layers of keratin and glycolipids, it acts as a protective barrier against water loss. It also is the first line of defense against abrasive activity due to contact with grit, microbes, or harmful chemicals. Sweat excreted from sweat glands deters microbes from over-colonizing the skin surface by generating dermicidin, which has antibiotic properties. The fact that you can feel an ant crawling on your skin, allowing you to flick it off before it bites, is because the skin, and especially the hairs projecting from hair follicles in the skin, can sense changes in the environment. The hair root plexus surrounding the base of the hair follicle senses a disturbance, and then transmits the information to the central nervous system, which can then respond by activating the skeletal muscles of your eyes to see the ant and the skeletal muscles of the body to act against the ant. The skin acts as a sense organ because the epidermis, dermis, and the hypodermis contain specialized sensory nerve structures that detect touch, surface temperature, and pain. These receptors are more concentrated on the tips of the fingers, which are most sensitive to touch, especially the Meissner corpuscle, which responds to light touch, and the Pacinian corpuscle, which responds to vibration. Merkel cells, seen scattered in the stratum basale, are also touch receptors. In addition to these specialized receptors, there are sensory nerves connected to each hair follicle, pain and temperature receptors scattered throughout the skin, and motor nerves innervate the arrector pili muscles and glands. This rich innervation helps us sense our environment and react accordingly. The integumentary system helps regulate body temperature through its tight association with the sympathetic nervous system, the division of the nervous system involved in our fight-or-flight responses. The sympathetic nervous system is continuously monitoring body temperature and initiating appropriate motor responses. Recall that sweat glands, accessory structures to the skin, secrete water, salt, and other substances to cool the body when it becomes warm. Even when the body does not appear to be noticeably sweating, approximately 500 mL of sweat are secreted a day. If the body becomes excessively warm due to high temperatures, vigorous activity, or a combination of the two, sweat glands will be stimulated by the sympathetic nervous system to produce large amounts of sweat, as much as 0.7 to 1.5 L per hour for an active person. When the sweat evaporates from the skin surface, the body is cooled as body heat is dissipated. When exposed to UV rays, the epidermal layer of human skin produces vitamin D. In the presence of sunshine, the skin produces cholecalciferol, a type of vitamin D3 from a derivative of the steroid cholesterol. Cholecalciferol is transformed by the liver into calcidiol, which is then transformed by the kidneys into calcitriol. Normal calcium and phosphorous absorption, which are necessary for strong bones, depends on vitamin D. Lack of sun exposure can result in a deficiency in vitamin D, which can cause rickets, a painful ailment in youngsters where the bones are deformed from a deficiency in calcium and cause bow leggedness.

Critical Thinking
Although people frequently focus on the integumentary system’s appearance, it serves numerous vital tasks that go beyond aesthetics. The integumentary system creates the barrier between the body and the outside world, allowing us to interact with it while still being separated from it. The integumentary system performs five primary tasks. The first step is protection. UV rays’ damaging effects and abrasion are both defended against by the skin. Additionally, it prevents the entry of germs and dehydration by limiting water loss from the body. Sensation is the second. Sensory receptors in the integumentary system can distinguish between hot and cold, touch, pressure, and pain. Temperature regulation comes in third. Body temperature is regulated in part by the amount of blood flowing through the skin and the activity of sweat glands. Fourth is the creation of vitamin D. The skin creates a molecule that can be converted into vitamin D, a crucial regulator of calcium homeostasis, when exposed to ultraviolet radiation. Excretion is the fifth. Waste materials are expelled in little quantities through the skin and glands.

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