INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM

CHARACTERISTICS OF SKIN

● A composite organ with the epidermis, the dermis, and the basement membrane.
● Derived from the ectoderm and produces the basal lamina.
● The dermis develops from mesoderm and mesenchyme that produces the reticular
lamina.
● Between integument and deep body muscles is a transitional subcutaneous region
made up of connective tissues (connective and adipose tissues).
● The epidermis produces hair, feathers, baleen, claws, nails, horns, beaks, and
scales.

GENERAL FUNCTIONS OF SKIN

IMPORTANT IN BODY TEMPERATURE REGULATION, CELL FLUID MAINTENANCE,

HOLDS THE SHAPE OF THE ORGANISM, FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE AGAINST ENTRY
OF FOREIGN BODIES AND AGAINST MECHANICAL INJURIES.

OSMOTIC REGULATION AND MOVEMENT OF GASES AND IONS TO AND FROM

CIRCULATION ARE AIDED BY THE INTEGUMENT IN CONJUNCTION WITH OTHER
ORGAN SYSTEMS.

EMBRYONIC ORIGIN

EPIDERMIS AND DERMIS

● The epidermis develops form the ectoderm.

● The dermis develops from the mesoderm and mesenchyme.
● The INTEGUMENT houses sensory organs that detect arriving stimuli from the
external environment.
● Invagination of the surface epidermis form skin glands:
= exocrine if they retain ducts
= endocrine if they separate from the surface and release
products directly into the blood vessels.
● Fundamentally, the integument is composed of two layers, epidermis and dermis,
separated by the basement membrane. Vascularization and innervation are then
integrated.
● The integument houses sensory organs that detect arriving stimuli from the external
environment.
● Invagination of the surface epidermis forms skin glands: exocrine if they retain
ducts, and endocrine if they separate from the surface and release products directly
into blood vessels.
● Interaction between epidermis and dermis stimulates specializations such as teeth,
feathers, hair, and scales of several varieties

Corneum - Keratinization

Basale - Cite for cell division

 1. DERMIS

• produces plates of bone directly through intramembranous ossification called as dermal

bones most visible component

● fibrous connective tissue composed mostly of collagen fibers

Papillary and Reticular Layer

AMPHIOXUS

ordered arrangement of collagen within each ply in alternating manner

● gives shape to the skin and prevents it from sagging

AQUATIC VERTEBRATES

In sharks, the bundles of collagen lie at angles to each other which results to flexible skin
and stretches without wrinkling

-In fishes, such as cetaceans and aquatic squamates, collagen are arranged in orderly plies
that form a clear stratum compactum.

TERRESTRIAL VERTEBRATES

● the stratum compactum is less obvious

● collagen fibers are abundant but they are not ordered and usually do not form
distinct plies
1. EPIDERMIS

The epidermis of many vertebrates produces mucus to moisten the surface of the skin.

FISHES

● mucus afford protection from bacterial infection

● helps ensure the laminar flow of water across the body surface

AMPHIBIANS

● mucus serves similar functions to fishes

● keeps the skin from drying during the animal's stay on land

TERRESTRIAL VERTEBRATES

● epidermis forms an outer keratinized/cornified layer, the stratum corneum (barrier of

the body and wildlife)
● Scales also form. In the form of ossified dermal bone= dermal scale. In the form of a
thickened keratinized layer= epidermal scale.

(Difference on amount of mucus present and keratinization)

INTEGUMENT OF FISHES

● Skin is nonkeratinized and covered by mucus.

● Collagen is regularly organized into plies that spiral around the body of the fish,
allowing the skin to bend without wrinkling.

Two types of cells occur within the epidermis of fishes:

1. epidermal cells- tightly connected and contain numerous secretory vesicles

2. unicellular glands- single, specialized, and interspersed cell

CHONDRICHTHYES

● Cartilaginous fishes
● No dermal bone
● Placoid scales are present
● The dermis is composed of fibrous connective tissue which gives the skin strength
and prevents wrinkling during swimming.

BONY FISHES

● Dermis: subdivided into a surface layer of loose connective tissue and a deeper
layer of dense fibrous connective tissue
● Scale is present

Scale types:

GANOID SCALE

● prevalence of a thick surface coat of enamel

● shiny, overlapping, and interlocking

TELEOST SCALE

● lacks enamel, dentin, and a vascular bone layer

Two types: Cycloid scale- composed of concentric rings, or circuli Ctenoid scale-has a fringe
of projections along its posterior margin

INTEGUMENT OF TETRAPODS

● Keratinization becomes a major feature of the integument among terrestrial

vertebrates.
● Keratinization produces an outer cornified layer, the stratum corneum. Lipids are
added during the process.
● Multicellular glands are more common in the skin of tetrapods than in the skin of
fishes.

AMPHIBIANS

● The skin is specialized as a respiratory surface across which gas exchange occurs.
 ● Dermal scales are present only as vestiges in some species of tropical caecilians
(Apoda). Frogs and salamanders lack all traces of dermal scales.

2 types of multicellular glands of frog and salamander's skin:

MUCOUS GLANDS

● tend to be smaller, each being made up of a little cluster of cells that release their
product into a common duct

POISON GLANDS

● granular glands
● tend to be larger and often contain stored secretions within the lumen
● distasteful or even toxic to predators

REPTILES

● Keratinizations much more extensive, and skin glands are fewer.

● Scales are present- epidermal scale
● Some reptiles also have dermal bones called osteoderms.
● Dermis is composed of fibrous connective tissue.
● Epidermis is delineated into three regions: stratum basale, stratum granulosum, and
stratum corneum.
● molting or ecdysis-the shedding of the cornified layer that results in removal of
sections of epidermis.
● White blood cells invade the stratum intermedium which promotes the separation
and loss of the old layer of the skin.
● Crocodiles and some turtles have scent glands.

The reptilian scale usually lacks the bony under-support or any significant structural
contribution from the dermis. Instead, it is a fold in the surface epidermis, hence, an
epidermal scale.

BIRDS

THE FEATHERS OF BIRDS DISTINGUISH THEM FROM ALL OTHER LIVING

VERTEBRATES

1. Is a sheet of mature, dead keratinocytes that is full of slits

2. Develop embryonically from feather follicles

BASIC STRUCTURE

DERMIS

● Richly supplied with blood vessels, sensory nerve endings, and smooth muscles

EPIDERMIS
 ● Comprised of stratum basale and stratum corneum, and between is the transitional
layer of cells transformed into the keratinized surface of the corneum

GLANDS

● Uropygial gland-secretes a lipid and protein product that birds collect on the sides of
their beak and then smear on their feathers
● Salt gland-excrete excess salt obtained when these birds ingest marine foods and
seawater

CONTOUR FEATHERS

● aerodynamically shape the surface of the bird

DOWN FEATHERS

● lie close to the skin as thermal insulation

FILOPLUMES

● often specialized for display

● attracting mates
● male birds are more colorful
● males with bright feathers mean that the bird has more access to prime territories

FLIGHT FEATHERS

● constitute the major aerodynamic surfaces

● found in wings

EVOLUTION OF FEATHERS

1. WERE THOUGHT TO PLAY A ROLE IN SURFACE INSULATION

● Holds heat in or shields the body from taking up excess heat
1. EVOLVED INITIALLY AS AIDS TO GLIDING AND THEN TO FLIGHT
● Were selected because of their favorable effect on the airstream passing over the
body or limbs of a gliding animal

MAMMALS

THE TWO MAIN LAYERS OF THE MAMMALIAN SKIN ARE EPIDERMIS AND DERMIS,
WHICH JOIN AND INTERFACE THROUGH THE BASEMENT MEMBRANE

1. EPIDERMIS may be locally specialized hair, nails, or glands

Prominent cell types:

keratinocytes & chromatophore

1. The DERMIS in mammals is double layered

● Outer papillary layer
● Deeper reticular layer
MAMMALS: HAIR

● The hair is produced within an epidermal hair follicle

● Keratinization within the hair follicle is localized and intermittent
● Chromatophores contribute to the color of the hair
● A thick covering of fur, or pelage, is composed of:
● Guard hairs- larger, course (not in humans)
● Underfur- beneath guard hairs (designed for cold climates)

EVOLUTION OF HAIR

1. INITIALLY FOR SURFACE INSULATION, RETAINING BODY HEAT IN PRIMITIVE

MAMMALS
2. EVOLVED FIRST AS TINY PROJECTING RODS IN THE HINGES BETWEEN
SCALES AND SERVED AS TACTILE DEVICES

GLANDS

THREE MAIN TYPES OF INTEGUMENTARY GLANDS IN MAMMALS

SEBACEOUS GLANDS

● Produce an oily secretion, sebum, that is released into hair follicles in order to
condition and help waterproof fur

ECCRINE GLANDS

● Produce thin, watery fluids, are not associated with hair follicles

APOCRINE GLANDS

● Produce a viscous, lipid-containing fluid, are associated with hair follicles

SCENT GLANDS

● Produce secretions that play a part in social communication

MAMMARY GLANDS

● Produce milk, a watery mix of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins that nourishes the
young

MAMMARY GLANDS

● The number of mammary glands varies among species

● Release of milk to a suckling is lactation
● Mammary glands become functional only in females
● Consist of numerous lobules, where each lobule is a cluster of secretory alveoli in
which milk is produced
 ● Detailed similarities of mammary glands in living monotremes, marsupials, and
eutherians argue for a monophyletic origin of these glands, perhaps by the
combination of parts of preexisting sebaceous and apocrine glands

SPECIALIZATIONS OF THE INTEGUMENT

NAILS

● Nails are plates of tightly compacted, cornified epithelial cells on ne surface of

fingers and toes; thus, they are products of the keratinizing system of the skin.
● The nail matrix forms a new nail at the nail base by pushing the existing nail forward
to replace that which is worn or broken at the free edge.
● Nails protect the tips of digits from inadvertent mechanical injury.

CLAWS

● Claws (reptiles or mammals), or talons (birds) - are curved, laterally compressed

keratinized projections from the tips of digits. They are seen in some amphibians and
in most birds, reptiles, and mammals.

HOOVES

● Hooves are enlarged keratinized plates on the tips of the ungulate digits.
● Ungulates are members of the diverse clade Ungulata which primarily consists of
large mammals with hooves. These include odd-toed ungulates such as horses,
rhinoceroses, and tapirs; and even-toed ungulates such as cattle, pigs, giraffes,
camels, sheep, deer, and hippopotamuses.

NAILS, HOOVES, CLAWS - all keratinized, same position

HORNS AND ANTLERS

● Mammals, dinosaurs, and extinct turtles are the only vertebrates with true horns or
antlers.
● "Horned" lizards have processes extending from behind the head that look like
horns but are specialized, pointed epidermal scales.
● The skin, together with the underlying bone, contributes to both true horns and
antlers. As these structures take shape, the underlying bone rises up, carrying the
overlying integument with it.

HORNS (both male and females)

● In horns, the associated integument produces a tough, cornified sheath that fits over
the bony core that is never branched.
● Among mammals, true horns are found among members of the family Bovidae
(e.g., cattle, antelope, sheep, goats, bison, wildebeests).
● Commonly, horns occur in both males and females, are retained year-round, and
continue to grow throughout the life of the individual.

ANTLERS
 ● In antlers, the overlying living skin (called

"velvet") apparently shapes and provides vascular supply to the growing bone. Eventually,
the velvet falls away to unsheath the bare bone, the actual material of the finished antlers
that is branched.

● True antlers occur only in members of the Cervidae (e.g., deer, elk, moose).
Typically, only males have antlers, which are branched and shed annually.

BALEEN

● The integument within the mouths of mysticete whales forms plates of baleen that;
● act as strainers to extract krill from water gulped in the distended mouth.
● It is a series of keratinized plates that arise from the integument.

SCALES

● Scales have many functions.

● Both epidermal and dermal scales are hard, so when they receive mechanical Insult
and surface abrasion, they prevent damage to soft tissues beneath.
● Epidermal scales are the major component of the skin of reptiles. They are also
present in birds along their legs, and in some mammals, such as the beaver, they
cover the tail.

DERMAL ARMOR

● Dermal bone forms the armor of ostracoderm and placoderm fishes.

● Being a product of the dermis, dermal bone finds its way into alliances with a great
variety of structures.
● Dermal bone supports the scales of bony fishes but tends to be lost in tetrapods.

MUCUS

● In aquatic vertebrates, it inhibits entrance of pathogens and may even have some
slight antibacterial action.
● In terrestrial amphibians, mucus keeps the integument moist, allowing it to function
in gas exchange.
● Although cutaneous respiration is prominent In amphibians, it occurs in other
vertebrates as well.
● Mucus is also involved in aquatic locomotion

COLOR

● Skin color results from complex interactions among physical, chemical, and
structural properties of the integument.
● The differential scattering of light, referred to as Tyndall scattering, is the basis for
much color in nature.
● In birds, air-filled cavities within feather barbs take advantage of this scattering
phenomenon to produce the blue feathers of kingfishers, blue jays, bluebirds, and
indigo buntings
Many of the pigments producing colors by this variety of physical phenomena are
synthesized by and held in specialized chromatophores.

Chromatophores are cells that produce color, of which many types are pigment-containing
cells, or groups of cells, found in a wide range of animals including amphibians, fish, reptiles,
crustaceans and cephalopods. Mammals and birds, in contrast, have a class of cells called
melanocytes for coloration.

4 TYPES OF CHROMATOPHORES

1. melanophore contains the pigment melanin most well known add color to the
integument that may camouflage an animal
2. iridophore contains light-reflecting, crystalline guanine platelets found in ectothermic
vertebrates and in the iris of the eye of some birds
3. xanthophore, containing yellow pigments
4. erythrophore, so called because of its red pigments