Ch. 7.3 Integumentary System Key Terms
A person with an absence of color pigments is an albino. An albino's skin has a pinkish tint and the hair is pale yellow or white. The person's eyes also lack pigment and are red and very sensitive to light.
albino
Also called corium, or "true skin." This layer has a framework of elastic connective tissue and contains blood vessels, lymph vessels, nerves, involuntary muscle, sweat and oil glands, and hair follicles.
dermis
Integumentary System
The skin, on an average adult, covers more than 3,000 square inches of surface area and accounts for about 15 percent of total body weight. It performs functions like protection, sensory perception, body temperature regulation, absorption, excretion, and production of Vitamin D.
Sebaceous Glands
Oil glands that usually open onto hair follicles. They produce sebum, an oil that keeps the skin and hair from becoming dry and brittle, and acts as an antibacterial and antifungal secretion.
A deep loss of skin surface that may extend into the dermis; may cause periodic bleeding and formation of scars
Ulcer
A baldness, or a loss of hair on the scalp.
alopecia
When blood vessels get larger, excess heat from the blood can escape through the skin.
dilate
Jaundice
A yellowish discoloration of the skin, which can indicate bile in the blood as a result of liver or gallbladder disease, or conjunction with certain diseases that involve the destruction of red blood cells.
Subcutaneous
Another term for Hypodermis. Adipose (fatty) tissue in the subcutaneous fascia is a source of energy.
Wheal
itchy, elevated areas with irregular shape; hives and insect bites are examples
When blood vessels get smaller, the heat is retained in the body.
constrict
The outermost layer of skin. This layer is actually made of five smaller layers but no blood vessels or nerve cells.
epidermis
Macules
flat spots on the skin, such as freckles.
Sudoriferous Glands
Sweat glands that are coiled tubes that extend through the dermis and open on the surface of the skin at pores. The sweat eliminates contained water, salts, and some body wastes. They also help cool the body through evaporation of perspiration.
Pustules
pus-filled sacs such as those seen in acne, or pimples
A symptom of skin conditions like impetigo (lesions rupture and ooze forming a yellowish brown crust) and squamous cell carcinoma (sores that later scale and crust). Also a symptom of eczema (vesicles that crust or ooze).
crusts
A reddish color of the skin that can be caused by either burns or a congestion of blood in the vessels. Also listed as a symptom of dermatitis and eczema.
erythema
Melanin
A brownish black pigment that is produced in the epidermis by specialized cells called melanocytes.
Vesicles
A symptom of eczema, involving small sacs containing fluid (blisters).
Empty
what is empty
A bluish discoloration of the skin caused by insufficient oxygen.
cyanosis
The innermost layer, also called Subcutaneous fascia. It is made of elastic and fibrous connective tissue and adipose (fatty) tissue and connects the skin to underlying muscles.
Hypodermis
Papules
firm, raised areas such as pimples and the eruptions seen in some stages of chickenpox and syphilis. Listed as a symptom of dermatitis.
Cyst
empty
what is empty