What To Know About Your Integumentary System

The integumentary system comprises your skin, hair, nails, and glands. The system acts as a physical barrier between the outside world and what's inside your body. In doing so, the integumentary system helps protect your body from things like pathogens and chemicals. It also helps in other tasks, like regulating body temperature and healing wounds.

The parts of the system work together to perform their functions. Here's what you need to know about all the parts of your integumentary system, including how to keep them each healthy so they can work together to provide you the protection from the outside elements.

Anatomy of the Integumentary System

The integumentary system is your body's outermost layer. It is mainly made up your skin—the body's largest organ. The integumentary system also includes parts of your body that are derived from your skin, like your hair, nails, sweat glands, and oil glands.

Here's a breakdown of each of the integumentary system's parts:

Skin

The skin covers the entirety of the outside of your body. It weighs about 6 pounds and is only around 2 millimeters thick. The thickness, texture, and color of your skin can vary between body parts. For instance, the hairless skin on the soles of your feet or palms of your hand is thicker than the hairy, thin skin of your arms.

This part of the integumentary system has three primary layers: the epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis. The epidermis is the outermost layer of the skin. It is tough and protective. The dermis is the middle layer of skin. It contains nerves, blood vessels, sweat glands, oil glands, and hair follicles. These two layers of skin cover the hypodermis, a layer of deeper subcutaneous tissue that contains fat and connective tissue. The hypodermis also connects to your underlying muscles.

Nails

Nails cover the tips of your fingers and toes. They are mostly made of keratin, a tough protein. Nails grow when new cells develop at the nail matrix (the top part of your nail) and then push out old cells. The portion of the nail that you can see is called the nail plate, and the half moon at the top is called the lunula. Fingernails grow about three millimeters per month, while your toenails will grow a little slower.

Hair

Your hair extends from your epidermis, but the roots or hair follicles are actually in the dermis. You have hair on the majority of your body except on your palms, soles, and lips as well as some parts of the external genitalia. Tiny muscles called arrector pili are attached to your hair follicles and help your hair shaft stand up.

Glands

The glands located in your skin are known as exocrine glands. Two of the most common exocrine glands are the sudoriferous (sweat) and sebaceous (oil) glands.

Sudoriferous glands produce sweat. There are two types of sweat-producing glands. Eccrine glands are located throughout the body. Apocrine glands are located in the armpit and pubic region and produce milkier sweat.

Sebaceous glands secrete sebum, which is an oily substance. Sebum produces a thin layer of film on the skin.

What Does the Integumentary System Do?

Your integumentary system's primary role is to protect your body. Consequently, your skin, hair, nails, and glands work together to shield your body form injuries, illnesses, infections, and other invaders.

The parts of the integumentary system also work together to promote wound healing and regulate body temperature.

Here are some of the roles that each part of the integumentary system plays:

Skin

• Has nerves that help you perceive pain, heat, cold, and other things that could either harm your body or upset its balance
• Provides physical cushioning with the hypodermis layer
• Protects you from harmful pathogens
• Absorbs and converts sunlight into vitamin D for the body to use
  

Hair

• Protects the skin
• Increases the function of your senses
• Aids in regulating body temperature
• Keeps harmful pathogens from entering your eyes, ears, and nose

Nails

• Protect your fingers and toes
• Increases how precise your movements can be
• Enhances sensation

Glands

• Provide a protective layer over your skin
• Prevent fluid loss
• Protect against microbes
  

Associated Conditions

Because your integumentary system is involved in so many of your body's processes, there are a number of conditions that can impact it. The conditions may be directly related to your integumentary system's function. You may also have conditions that can manifest as symptoms in your skin, hair, nails, and glands.

Here are some of the more common conditions that impact your integumentary system:

Skin

• Acne: This skin condition occurs when your pores or follicles get plugged with oil, bacteria, and dead skin cells.
• Atopic dermatitis: Atopic dermatitis causes inflammation, redness, and irritation. People with this condition usually feel itchy.
• Ichthyosis: This group of skin disorders causes dry, itchy skin. Sometimes people with this condition will have scaly, rough, red patches.
• Psoriasis: People with this inflammatory condition have an overactive immune system that causes their skin cells to multiple too quickly. This often results in inflamed and scaly skin—especially on the knees, elbows, and scalp.
• Pemphigus: This autoimmune disease causes the immune system to attack the top layer of your skin and your mucous membranes. This often results in blistering.
• Rosacea: This long-term inflammatory condition causes extremely red skin, especially on the nose and cheeks.
• Skin cancer: As the most common type of cancer, skin cancer is most often caused by the sun's rays.
• Scleroderma: This skin condition causes patches of tight, hard skin. It also can damage your blood vessels and organs.

Nail

• Beau's lines: These lines are grooves that run the width of the nail and indicate that something caused your nails to stop growing. Chemotherapy is a common cause, but certain diseases can also cause these lines to occur.
• Clubbing: This is when your nails become rounded or appear like clubs. This could be a genetic trait but may also be a sign of a lung, heart, liver, or intestinal issues.
• Pachyonychia congenita: Affecting the skin and nails, pachyonychia congenita is a rare genetic disorder that causes thick nails and painful calluses.
• Paronychia: This nail condition, which occurs due to a nail infection, can cause redness around the nail or a greenish-black nail.
• Onychomycosis: This nail infection is caused by a dermatophyte (fungus), yeasts, or molds.
• Nail psoriasis: Psoriasis can affect the nails. it usually begins years after psoriasis has already affected your skin. Signs of nail psoriasis include tiny dents in your nails, crumbling nails, and blood under your nail.

Hair

• Alopecia areata: This condition is an autoimmune disease that causes you to lose your hair in patches. In some cases you may lose all of your hair.
• Lichen planopilaris: This is an inflammatory condition that can cause bald patches as well as scaly skin and redness around hair follicles. Scarring from the condition can cause permanent hair loss. Lichen planopilaris is believed to be an autoimmune condition that affects the hair follicles.
• Hair shaft disorders: There is a group of conditions that can make your hair shaft more fragile, making it so that your hair breaks more easily. Some hair shaft conditions may not make your hair shaft fragile but can change the appearance or texture of your hair.

Glands

• Hyperhidrosis: With this medical condition, a person sweats excessively and unpredictably.
• Steatocystoma multiplex: This is when growths filled with sebum begin in the oil glands. They appear on the torso, neck, upper arms, and upper legs. It is thought to be a rare genetic condition.
• Sebaceous hyperplasia: This occurs when oil gland become trapped with oil. The bumps are not dangerous.

Diagnostic Testing

If your healthcare provider suspects you have a condition impacting your integumentary system, there are a number of diagnostic tests that can be performed. Some of the potential tests include:

• Blood tests: There are many blood tests that can be used to test for issues with the integumentary system. These include tests for vitamin deficiencies, hormonal issues, thyroid function, and rheumatoid factor.
• Skin biopsy: With this test, a healthcare provider will remove a small sample of skin. This testing can help diagnose skin lesions, skin cancer, and skin infections.
• Skin scraping: For this, they will scrape the outermost layer of skin and look at it under a microscope. This is often used when a fungal infection is suspected.
• Wood lamp examination: This test looks at skin closely using ultraviolet lights to diagnose bacterial and fungal infections.
• Pull and tug test: This is a simple test where the healthcare provider picks a section of hair and tugs on it to determine if you have active hair loss.
• Card test: Using a felt covered card, a healthcare provider can determine if you have new hair growth. This test can be helpful when you have hair loss.
• Trichometric analysis: This test is a computerized tool that analyzes the health of your scalp and hair.
• Fungal culture: This is a lab test that can confirm the presence of a fungus usually in your hair or on your scalp.

Tips for Keeping Your Integumentary System Healthy

Keeping your integumentary system healthy begins with caring for your skin, hair, and nails. By making sure these parts of your body are well cared for, you can help prevent conditions and illnesses that will interfere with the system's ability to function at an optimal level.

Here are some things you can do to care for your integumentary system:

• Wear sunscreen every day and avoid tanning beds.
• Keep your hands off your face and wash your hands regularly.
• Choose care products formulated for your skin and hair type.
• Limit your use of products to a gentle cleanser, sunscreen, and moisturizer.
• Avoid washing your hair excessively, especially if it tends to be dry.
• Use gentle shampoos that are sulfate-free.
• Apply conditioner to your hair, and avoid harsh soaps or alcohols.
• Cut your nails straight across and do not remove the cuticles.
• Wear properly fitting shoes and sandals.
• Protect your feet when using public showers or pools.
• Soak your toenails in warm water before cutting them, especially if they are thick or difficult to cut.
• Keep your nails clean and dry.

It is also important to perform regular skin self-exams at home and have a medical professional, such as a dermatologist, routinely scan your skin. With some skin cancers, early detection and treatment can result in a 95% cure rate. Meanwhile, other skin conditions can be treated with medications.

A Quick Review

Your integumentary system consists of your skin, hair, nails, and glands. Its primary role is to protect your body. The parts of the integumentary system also work together to help regulate your body temperature, increase sensation, and heal wounds.

There are a number of conditions that can affect your integumentary system. Your skin, hair, nails, and glands can all be impacted by a variety of conditions, including acne, psoriasis, and alopecia. If a healthcare provider suspects an issue with your integumentary system, there are a number of tests that can be ordered to reach a diagnosis.

To keep your integumentary system healthy and functioning as it should, it is important to care for your skin, hair, nails, and glands. This can include regular hand, face, and hair washing as well as nail upkeep.