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Skin - Quick Facts
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The pigment melanin provides a chemical pigment defense against ultraviolet light that can damage skin cells.
Skin can be a virtual open book to a person's state of health. Very red skin may mean high blood pressure, while sagging, leathery skin can be that of a long-time smoker or sun worshipper.
Your skin plays a role in the immune system protecting you from disease.
Your skin stores water, fat, vitamin D, and seals in your vital fluids. People with severe burns face their greatest risk from infection and from rapid, life-threatening fluid loss, which jolts the body into shock and massive organ failure. Saved by a Skin
Skin conditions are also called cutaneous disorders and dermatologic disorders.
Conditions that irritate, clog or inflame your skin can cause symptoms such as redness, swelling, burning and itching.
Allergies, irritants, your genetic makeup and certain diseases and immune system problems can cause dermatitis, hives and other skin conditions.
Many skin problems, such as acne, affect your appearance.
The three main layers of the skin are the Epidermis, Dermis or Corium, & Subcutaneous Layer or Hypodermis.
The first layer of skin, the epidermis, is the outside layer of skin that covers the body surface. This is where the melanin-producing melanocytes are, and where a suntan occurs.
The three layers of your skin differ in function, thickness, and strength.
Female mosquitoes are the ones that bite our skin, not the male mosquitoes. Male mosquitoes feed on flower nectar. The female mosquito requires blood to produce her eggs. Her mouthparts are constructed so that they pierce our skin, literally sucking the blood out. Her saliva lubricates the opening. It's the saliva plus the injury to our skin that creates the stinging and irritation we associate with mosquito bites.
Skin tissue is more likely to scar than mucous membranes - slippery tissues inside the nose, ears, mouth, and other body cavities heal faster than skin tissue.
Body Temperature Regulation
Your skin regulates your body temperature. Your skin helps you sense the outside world, such as whether it is hot or cold or wet or dry. When your skin is exposed to a cold temperature, the blood vessels in the dermis constrict, allowing the blood which is warm, to bypass your skin. Your skin then becomes the temperature of the cold it is exposed to. Body heat is conserved since the blood vessels are not diverting heat to your skin anymore.
Page 1 Skin - Quick Facts
References:
1) MedlinePlus - National Library of Medicine (NLM) - July 2007 - www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus
2) SEER's Training Web Site - Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) - training.seer.cancer.gov
3) The Library of Congress - Research Centers - Science Reference Services - March 2007 - www.loc.gov
4) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - Division of Cancer Prevention and Control - National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion - April 2007 - www.cdc.gov