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How does skin prevent the body from losing too much water?
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human body
Vintage anatomy charts of the human body showing the skeletal and muscle systems.
The skin prevents excessive water loss through a specialized barrier located in the lower portion of the stratum corneum, which is the outermost layer of the epidermis.
Within this compact zone, the spaces between the flattened, keratin-filled cells are tightly packed with lamellae of lipid (waxy) platelets. These lipid bilayers form an extracellular matrix that acts as a seal, effectively blocking the outflow of water into the environment. This structural arrangement is essential for maintaining internal hydration and regulating skin permeability.123