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Structure and Function of The Skin

»	Name the three layers of the skin. What composes them?
»	How many layers are there in the epidermis? How are they organized?
»	Do other types of cells normally occur in the epidermis?
»	What is apocopation?
»	Describe the structure of the basement membrane zone (BMZ).
»	How is the structure of the epidermis related to its functions?
»	What structural components of the epidermis are involved in blistering diseases?
»	Are there hereditary diseases of the BMZ and dermis that cause blistering and damage to the skin?
»	Are there acquired blistering diseases of the BMZ and dermis?
»	What abnormalities in structural components of the basement membrane are involved in bullous skin diseases?
»	What is the function of the sebaceous gland?
»	How do the eccrine sweat glands and apocrine sweat glands differ?
»	How is the dermis organized?
»	What are the components of the dermis?
»	What are the functions of the dermis?
»	Which structural component of the dermis is involved in congenital and autoimmune skin diseases?
»	How does the vasculature of the dermis function in temperature control?
»	How is the skin innervated?
»	Name the two main corpuscular (encapsulated) nerve receptors found in the skin.
»	Is loss of cutaneous sensation very serious?
»	How is the subcutis organized?

How is the skin innervated?

The innervation of the skin recapitulates the blood flow: Large, myelinated, cutaneous branches of the musculocutaneous nerves branch in the subcutaneous tissue to form a deep nerve plexus in the reticular dermis. Nerve fibers from the deep plexus ascend to form a superficial subpapillary plexus. Nerves from these plexuses innervate the skin either as free nerve endings or as corpuscular receptors. The free nerve endings may terminate in the superficial dermis or on Merkel cells in the epidermis. Free nerve endings function as important sensory receptors. They transmit touch, pain, temperature, itch, and mechanical stimuli. These exist in the papillary dermis as individual fibers surrounded by Schwann’s cells. The other type of receptor in the skin is the corpuscular receptor.