RyanCullen

10/20/14
LabReportIntegumentarySystem
TheIntegumentarySystemisaorgansystemthatcoversmostoftheoutsideofyourbody.
ThetwomainregionsoftheintegumentarysystemincludetheDermisandtheEpidermis,
whicharemadeupofepithelial,nervous,andconnectivetissues.TheEpidermisintheouter,
thinlayeroftheskinthathasmanypores,freckles,molesandothersuchouterimperfections
asthat.TheDermisisthethickerlayeroftheskinthatisbeneaththeEpidermis.Itholdsthe
hairfollicles,sweatglands,andnerveendingsthatstimulatesenses.Manyfunctionsare
takenonbytheIntegumentarySystem.Thisincludesprotection,insulation,andtomaintain
severalhomeostaticeventsthattakeplacethroughoutthebody.Thisorgansystemis
especiallyinterestingduetotheconstanthomeostasisgoingonthroughoutthewholesystem.
Oneofthemainhomeostaticfunctionsthattheskinundertakesistheproductionof
perspirationwhenthebodyisoverheated,exercised,orapsychogenicstimuli,orstress,is
produced.Sweatporeswerefirstdiscoveredin1684byNekemiahGrew,whiletheactual
sweatglandsthatproducethesweatwerediscoveredin1833byJohannesPurkinje.Over
50%ofwaterlosspassesthroughyourskinasaresponsebyyourintegumentarysystemto
keepyourbodycoolandtocyclewaterthroughoutthebodyatalltimes.Thermoregulationis
thehomeostaticabilitytoinsulateandcooloffthebody.Whenyourbodyisespeciallycold
bloodissentthroughbloodvesselstotheareathatisaffectedandwarmsitusingthenatural
heatofyourbodythatyourbloodisespeciallygoodattransportingthroughoutyourbody.
Whenextremeheatisappliedtoanareathethebloodwillabsorbheatfromthatspotinan
attempttocooldowntheburnedarea,butthebloodismoresuitedforcarryingheattocold
areasthenitisatabsorbingtheheatfromtheskin.Thisexplainstherednessofyourskin
whenyouareextremelycoldoraburnedarea.Thermoreceptorsarethenervesthatsend
signalstotheBrainthatextraheatistheareaoralackthereof.Touchandsenseisabigpart
oftheIntegumentarysystemfunctionsaswellasitallowsthebodytogetoutsidestimuli
throughnervesandtouchreceptors.

KeyFeaturesoftheIntegumentarySystem

Thesearemylipandfingerprints.Molesareformedfromextratissue
Lipandfingerprintsarespecifictoproductioninacertainarea.

differentpeople.

FrecklesareformedbyoveractivemelanocytesHairandSweatglanddiagram

CutaneousSensoryReception
Acutaneousreceptorisatypeofsensoryreceptorfoundinthedermisorepidermis.They
areapartofthesomatosensorysystem.Cutaneousreceptorsincludecutaneous
mechanoreceptors,nociceptors(pain),andthermoreceptors(temperature).LABirder,ER
PerlJournalofclinicalneurophysiology,1994.Sensorypathwayschainsofneuronsthatare
themainsignaltransportationpathwayfromthebrainanddeliverstimulitothe5sense
areasaroundthebody(Hands,tongue,ears,eyes,feet,nose).Mechanoreceptorsfeelthe
sensationoftouchanddeliversthethestimulustothebraintodecipherwhatthethingisyou
aretouching.Nociceptorsfeelthesensationofpain,whichinturndeliversthestimulustothe
brainandmuscleandcontrolssomeinvoluntarymusclecontrolincaseofexcessiveamounts
ofpainarefelt.Thermoreceptorsfeelthesensationofdifferenttemperaturesandalsohave
controloversomeinvoluntarymusclemovementincaseofexcessiveheatorcold.Thebrain
ultimatelycontrolthereactiontothestimulusprovidedbythereceptorsintheskin.
Dermatomesareareasoftheskinthatsuppliessensorydetailstoaspecificspinalnervefor
messagestothebrain.Sensoryreceptorsarecloselycompactedinthe5senseareas
wherethemoststimuliisreceivedbytheoutsideenvironment.AstestedinthelabTwoPoint
TouchReceptorDiscriminationthehands,feet,nose,lips,andfingershadthemostclosely
compactedsensorynervescomparedtothesparselypopulatedsensorycellsinthethighs
andback.
Belowareimagesofahomunculusdrawingofmybodybasedonthedatainthetables
oftwopointtouchreceptordiscriminationlab.

ThermoregulationintheIntegumentarySystem
Thermoregulationisaformofhomeostasisthattakesplaceinthebodyandhasasole
purposeofkeepingthehumanbodyatequilibriumpertainingtotemperature.Endothermyis
definedastheprocessofyourbodyscellsandtissuestoregulatethebodytemperature
throughhomeostaticprocess,JRKing,DSFarnerBiologyandcomparativephysiologyof
birds,1961.Bloodisknownforitsabilitytoretainbodyheatandtransportbodyheat
throughoutthethebodywhenneeded.Bloodcellshavealargeamountoffunctionsin
EndothermyandThermoregulation.Whenyougetextremelycoldandyoustarttogetredness
aroundyourbody,thisisthewarmbloodbeingdistributedthroughoutthebodyinanattempt
byyourcellstotransportheattothecoldareasofyourbody.Thebloodplasmaandredblood
cellsholdtheheatinspecializedpartsthatmakeuptheirstructurethisisoneofthemany
waysbloodremainswarmatalltimes.Thermoreceptorsarereceptiveportionsofasensory
neuron,thatcodeabsoluteandrelativechangesintemperature,primarilywithintherangeof
itssensoryfibers.Warmandcoldreceptorsplayapartinsensinginnocuousenvironmental
temperature.Temperatureslikelytodamageanorganismaresensedbysubcategoriesof
nociceptorsthatmayrespondtonoxiouscold,noxiousheatormorethanonenoxious
stimulusmodality.Thenerveendingsofsensoryneuronsthatrespondspecificallytocooling
arefoundinmoderatedensityintheskinbutalsooccurinrelativelyhighspatialskindensity
areassuchasthecornea,tongue,bladder,andfacialskin.Bloodvesselsarestimulatedby
Thermoreceptorswhentheysenseextremeheatorextremecold.Thebloodvesselsthen
pumpbloodaroundtheareatobringheatortoabsorbheattokeepthebodyataconstant
temperatureof98.6degreesfahrenheit.Thiswasputintoanexperimentintheclassroom.
Thegoalofthelabwastofindouthowfastdifferentindividualsthermoregulation
homeostasisprocesswouldtaketogetbringthebodyheatofyourbodybacktoitsoriginal
temperaturewheniceandexercisewereappliedtodifferentareaofthebody.Sweatisalsoa
formofthermoregulationthatinvolvesglands,poresintheskin,andthermoreceptors.There
aredifferentsweatglandssuchastheapicrineandtheeccrinesweatglands.Eccrinesweat
glandsundertheskinsecretesweat,whichtravelsupthesweatduct,throughthesweatpore
andontothesurfaceoftheskin.Thiscausesheatlossviaevaporativecooling.However,alot
ofessentialwaterislost.Whenenvironmentaltemperatureisabovecorebodytemperature,
sweatingistheonlyphysiologicalwayforhumanstoloseheat.Sweatglandsarefoundunder
almosteveryskinporeonthebody.Thisisbecauseofthebodysnaturalresponsetoheat.


AboveisthedatafromtheSweatGlandDensitylab,andbelowisthedatafromthe
VascularityoftheSkinlab.


Conclusions
ThefirstlabthatwasdonewastheSweatGlandDensityLab.Itwasusedtofindouthow
manysweatglandsthatanindividualhasinacertainarea.Thehypothesisofthelabwas
supportedbythedatabecauseofthesignificantlygreatersweatglanddensityontheforearm
aswaspredictedonthepalmaswellhowever,thedatadiddifferontheventralforearm
becausethearticledatathesweatglanddensitywassignificantlysmallerthanintheclass
studyinregardstotheventralforearm.Thesecondlabthatwasconductedwasthe
VascularityoftheSkinLab.Itwasdonetofindouttherecoveryrateofyourskinwhen
differentoutsidetemperatureswereapplied.Thehypothesisofthislabwasnotsupportedby
thedatabecausetheskintook120200secondstoreturntothebaselinetemperaturewhen
affectedbyiceinsteadofthepredicted90100seconds.Alsotheskintook120secondsto
getbacktoitsoriginalbaselinetemperaturewhenaffectedbyexercise.Lastlyanother
conclusioncanbemetaboutthislabbecausethepalmrespondsfastesttooutside
temperature,whiletheforearmwassecondfastest,andthecheekwasleastfastest.From
thatwecanconcludethepalmhasthemostvascularity,forearmhassecondmost,andthe
cheekistheleastmostvascular.ThethirdandfinallabthatwasconductedwastheTwo
PointDiscriminationLab.Itwasusedtoshowthedifferentdistancesbetweentouch
receptorsondifferentareasofthehumanbody.Thehypothesisofthislabwassupportedby
thedatabecausethehandshadtouchreceptorsfor1mmalongwiththefeet.Thelipsonthe
otherhandhad5mmspacedtouchreceptors.Thisprovedthehypothesisthattheseareasof
thebodywouldhavethemosttouchreceptorspermillimeter.
Citations
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Physiol,J."THEEXCITATIONOFTOUCHRECEPTORSINFROG'SSKIN."(1951):
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3.
Taylor,NigelA.S."EccrineSweatGlandsAdaptationstoPhysicalTraining
Acclimation."ADISPressLimited,30Oct.2004.Web.
4.
Sato,Kenzo."ThePhysiology,Pharmacology,andBiochemistryoftheEccrineSweat
Gland."SpringerVerlagInc.,21Dec.2001.Web
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Hensel,Herbert."CutaneousThermoreceptors."SpringerVerlagInc.,3Sept.2000.
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