Skin Facts
What is the largest organ in the human body?
The Skin
Which grows faster—fingernails or toenails?
Fingernails
What does sweat mainly help regulate?
Body Temp
What do nerve endings in the skin allow you to feel?
touch, pressure, heat, and pain
True or False: You shed skin cells every minute.
True—about 30,000–40,000
About what percent of your body weight is skin?
15%
What protein are hair and nails mostly made of?
Keratin
About how many sweat glands does a human body have?
2-5 million
What pigment protects skin from UV rays?
Melanin
About how many pounds of skin do you shed each year?
9 pounds
How many square feet of skin does an adult have?
20 square feet
True or False: Hair grows on every part of the body.
False—except lips, palms, and soles.
Which glands produce oil for the skin?
sebaceous glands
What is the thickest part of your skin
soles of your feet
What makes your fingerprints unique?
Skin ridges and patterns
What protein makes skin strong and stretchy?
Collagen
What part of the hair is visible above the skin?
The Hair Shaft
What is sweat mostly made of?
water
What happens to blood vessels when you get hot?
They widen to release heat
Which grows faster—your nails on your dominant hand or your non-dominant hand?
Dominant hand
What layer of skin is the outermost?
Epidermis
What gives hair its color?
Melanin
Which type of sweat gland becomes active during puberty?
apocrine glands
What is the thick inner layer of skin called?
dermis
What part of the skin heals small cuts and scrapes?
epidermis