Read Aloud the Text Content

This audio was created by Woord's Text to Speech service by content creators from all around the world.

Text Content or SSML code:

Sebaceous gland: ▪ Small glands, which produce the skin’s natural oil known as sebum. ▪ Attached to the hair follicles. ▪ Sebum travels up the hair follicles and exits onto the skin via a pore. ▪ Sebum lubricates the skin and the hair. Arrector Pilli Muscle: ▪ Connected to the epidermis and hair follicles. ▪ When these muscles contract they pull the skin to form ‘goose bumps. ▪ As they contract individual hairs are pulled upwards helping to trap warm air between the skin and hair. Sweat glands: ▪ Technically classified as sudoriferous glands of which there are two types. ▪ Eccrine glands are found all over the body, especially on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. ▪ Apocrine glands are found on the hairy parts of the body e.g. Underarms, groin and are larger than eccrine glands. ▪ Eccrine sweat glands are active from birth; they produce sweat with a high salt and water content that helps to regulate body temperature. ▪ Apocrine glands become active during puberty and they produce sweat that has a higher fat content than that produced by eccrine glands. Due to their location (warm moist areas), bacteria will feed on the fat content of the sweat, break down and so produce body odour. circulation: ▪ The dermis has a complex network of blood and lymphatic vessels. ▪ The blood vessels transport oxygen from the air we breathe into the body to the skin cells as well as nutrients from the food we eat. ▪ Oxygen and nutrients ensure cells are able to reproduce and repair in order to maintain good healthy skin. ▪ The blood vessels also transport waste products in the form of carbon dioxide away from the cells so that it can eventually be breathed out of the body. ▪ Lymphatic vessels pick up waste from the cells that the blood vessels are unable to take helping to free the cells from any unwanted or harmful substances. Nerve supply: ▪ The dermis contains sensory nerves that connect the skin with the brain. ▪ These sensory nerves are able to detect changes in temperature, pressure and pain. ▪ The sensory nerves produce a message in the form of an electrical impulse that is sent along a network of nerves through the body to the brain. ▪ The brain interprets the message and sends formulates a response by sending a corresponding message to the muscles and organs of the body via the motor nerves. Subcutaneous Layer ▪ Lies under the dermis. ▪ Is formed of connective tissue. ▪ Provides storage of fat from our diet. ▪ Also known as the hypodermis or subcutis. ▪ Made from two forms of connective tissue areolar and adipose. ▪ Areolar tissue forms a loose network of cells that provide strength, elasticity and support. ▪ Adipose tissue forms a network of fat cells that provide insulation and an energy source. Structural difference. The characteristics of an individual’s skin depend on their gender, ethnicity and skin type. Gender: ▪ Differences in the structure of the skin of males and females occur during puberty when hormones dictate the various changes specific to each gender. ▪ The stratum corneum is generally 20% thicker in males. ▪ Adipose tissue accumulates more on the hips and thighs of women and the abdomen of males. ▪ Males have more collagen; collagen production tends to slow down in females during menopause. This causes female skin to age faster than male skin. ▪ Hair growth is thicker in males, especially on the legs, arms, face and chest. ▪ The decrease and final cessation of head hair growth is more common in males than females. Ethnicity: ▪ Differences in the structure of the skin occur in different ethnic groups as a result of genetic factors that have been inherited over thousands of years. Different ethnic groups may be classified as being Caucasian (white, Asian, black, Chinese and mixed. ▪ Caucasian skin types produce less melanin (colour pigment) than the other ethnic groups. ▪ Black skin types produce more melanin than other skin types. ▪ Black skins have more sebaceous and sweat glands than other skin types. ▪ Black skins have a thicker epidermis than other skin types. ▪ Hair growth differs from ethnic group to ethnic group. ▪ Caucasian skin types generally have light to medium amounts of facial/body hair. ▪ Black and Chinese skin types generally experience light facial and body hair. ▪ Mixed and Asian skin types may experience heavy facial / body hair. Skin types: Differences in the characteristics of the skin occur as the skin types changes throughout life. Skin types and conditions may be categorised as being, oily, dry, dehydrated, sensitive, congested/blemished, combination, young and mature. ▪ Skin becomes thinner as it matures. ▪ Oily, blemished and congested skin types contain sebaceous glands that are overactive. Excessive amounts of sebum are produced. This is often associated with young skin. ▪ Dry skin types contain sebaceous glands that are inactive and which do not produce adequate amounts of sebum. ▪ Dehydrated skin types experience dryness associated with a lack of water in the body as a whole, making the skin feel dry and tight. ▪ Sensitive skin types tend to be finer in texture with the network of blood vessels appearing closer to the skin’s surface. ▪ Combination skin types usually have oiliness down the centre of the face and dryness on the neck and cheeks. Skin functions As part of the integumentary system, the skin, hair and nails have many functions that contribute to the well-being of the body as a whole. These specific functions include: ▪ Sensitivity – the skin is a sensory organ. ▪ Heat regulation – the skin helps to maintain a body temperature of 36.8 ̊c. ▪ Absorption – the skin is able to absorb some water and moisture. ▪ Protection – the skin is able to protect the body like a living suit of armour. ▪ Excretion – the skin is able to eliminate waste through the elimination of sweat. ▪ Secretion – the skin is able to perform a cellular process of releasing a substance i.e. Sebum. ▪ Production of vitamin D – vitamin is produced in response to the action of sunlight on the skin. Sensitivity The skin picks up sensations from our environment: ▪ The sensations of touch, pressure, pain and temperature are transmitted to the brain via an elaborate network of sensory nerves and receptors in the skin. ▪ These sensations are transmitted as electrical impulses. ▪ The brain receives and interprets the messages. ▪ The brain formulates a response that it relays as electrical impulses back to the body along a corresponding set of nerves called motor nerves. Some messages bypass the brain these are known as reflex actions which allow the body to respond quickly e.g. Move away from a hotplate etc. Heat Regulation The skin helps to maintain body temperature through sweating and vasodilation, fat cells in the subcutaneous layer and the production of ‘goose bumps. ▪ As body temperature rises, the sudiferous glands produce sweat. The heat of the skin evaporates the sweat producing a cooling effect on the skin. ▪ When the body temperature rises, blood vessels dilate to allow blood to flow closer to the skin, reducing heat. This action is vasodilation. ▪ When body temperature falls, blood vessels constrict, causing the blood to flow slower and further away from the skin’s surface, therefore conserving heat; this action is called vasoconstriction. ▪ Fat cells in the subcutaneous layer help to insulate the body against excessive heat loss. ▪ When we are cold, we have an involuntary action of shivering. This action causes the arrector pili muscles attached to the hair follicles in the dermis, to contract, pulling at the hair follicles and causing goose bumps on the skin’s surface where the tiny hairs are lifted in an attempt to trap warm air beneath them. Absorption The absorption of water or moisture is controlled by the acid mantle and the stratum lucidum in the epidermis. ▪ The acid mantle forms a protective covering to the skin that is able to absorb limited amounts of moisture in the form of creams and oils etc. ▪ The stratum lucidum prevents excessive amounts of water and moisture from entering the body. ▪ Certain substances with a particular molecular structure are able to penetrate more deeply through a process called diffusion. ▪ Examples of substances that are able to be absorbed by the process of diffusion are essential oils. Protection The skin protects the body through the formation of the acid mantle, the production of melanin, fat cells in the subcutaneous layer, touch, blood clotting and the hair and nails. ▪ Protective covering called the acid mantle is formed by the combination of sweat and sebum with the surface dead skin cells of the epidermis. ▪ The acid mantle has an acidic ph. of between 4.6 and 6 helping to protect the skin’s surface. ▪ The production of melanin (colour pigment) in the epidermis occurs when the skin is exposed to sunlight. ▪ Melanin production forms the characteristic suntan offering the body a form of protection from burning and harmful effects on the underlying tissues. Fat cells in the adipose tissue of the subcutaneous layer form a protective ‘cushion’ for the body. ▪ ‘Touch’ alerts the brain to impending danger helping to protect against damage from extreme temperature, pressure and pain. ▪ Blood cells help protect the skin when damaged by producing a clot or scab over a wound. ▪ Hair develops from follicles in the dermis, offering additional protection to more delicate areas of the body. ▪ Nails develop from the cells of the stratum germinativum in the epidermis and protrude out of the skin to protect the ends of the fingers and toes. Excretion ▪ This is eliminating waste. ▪ Sweat is produced by the sweat glands. ▪ Sweat contains water and small amounts of waste products including urea, uric acid, ammonia and lactic acid. Secretion.