3 Veterinary Term: The Integumentary System Flashcards
(155 cards)
What does Integument mean?
means covering, and the skin is the outer covering for the body
What is the INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM of the body?
The skin and its accessory organs (hair, nails, hooves, claws and glands)
At does the Integument contain?
glands that secrete several types of fluids.
nerves that carry impulses.
blood vessels that aid in the regulation of temperature.
As a protective membrane over the entire body, the skin guards what?
guards the deeper tissues of the body against excessive loss of water, salts and heat and against invasion of pathogens and their toxins.
What contributes to the skin’s ability to prevent bacterial invasions?
Secretions from the skin that are slightly acidic in nature
What do Specialized cells (LANGERHANS CELLS) do?
react to the presence of antigens and have an immune function.
What two types of glands does the skin contain that produce important secretions?
SEBACEOUS and SWEAT glands
What do SEBACEOUS glands produce?
SEBUM, an oily secretion
What do sweat glands produce?
sweat, a watery secretion
How does sebum and sweat pass through the skin?
pass to the outer edges of the skin through ducts and leave the skin through openings, or PORES
What is the function of sebum?
lubricates the surface of the skin
What is the function of sweat?
cools the body as it evaporates from the skin surface
Nerve fibers under the skin are receptors for what?
sensations such as pain, temperature, pressure and touch
The body’s adjustment to the environment depends on what?
sensory messages relayed to the brain and spinal cord by sensitive nerve endings in the skin.
Different tissues in the skin maintain what?
body temperature (THERMOREGULATION)
Nerve fibers coordinate THERMOREGULATION by?
carrying messages to the skin from heat centers in the brain that are sensitive to increases and decreases in body temperature. Impulses from these fibers cause blood vessels to dilate to bring blood to the surface and cause sweat glands to produce the watery secretion that carries heat away.
What are the three layers of the skin?
Epidermis
Dermis
Subcutaneous layer (HYPODERMIS)
What is the EPIDERMIS?
a thin, cellular membrane layer containing keratin
Outermost layer
What is the DERMIS?
dense, fibrous, connective tissue layer; containing collagen
middle layer
What is the SUBCUTANEOUS LAYER (HYPODERMIS)?
thick fat-containing tissue
innermost layer
What is the epidermis composed of?
SQUAMOUS EPITHELIUM.
Epithelium is the covering of both the internal and the external surfaces of the body.
Describe Squamous epithelium?
cells are flat and scale-like.
In the outer layer of the skin, these cells are arranged in several layers (STRATA) to form STRATIFIED SQUAMOUS EPITHELIUM
What does the epidermis lack?
blood vessels, lymphatic vessels and connective tissue (elastic fibers, cartilage, fat)
What does the epidermis depend on?
dependent on the deeper dermis layer and its rich network of capillaries for nourishment.
Oxygen and nutrients seep out of the capillaries in the dermis, pass through tissue fluid and supply nourishment to the deeper layers of the epidermis.