human skin

Introduction
Distinctive features
The dermis
Blood and lymph vessels
The skin surface
The epidermis
- General structure
- Major layers
- Dynamics and organization
- The keratin layer
- Pigmentation
- Immunoregulation and Langerhans cells
- Hair
- Sebaceous glands
- Sweat glands
- Nails
- Cutaneous sense organs

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

Learn how regenerative properties of the skin helps to protect the human body from the external environment

What causes our skin to wrinkle as we age?

Detailed cross-section illustration of human skin showing layers including the epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous fat, with labeled structures such as hair, pores, sweat gland, oil gland, nerves, blood vessels, and hair follicle.

Examine how a subcutaneous fat layer supplies nutrients to dense connective tissue and epithelial cells

Close-up of a person holding a child's hand with scabs on the fingers, gently cleaning the wounds with gauze.

A section through the skin. The tough, dead cells of the outer epidermal surface (corneal layer) serve as a physical barrier and are continually replaced by cells produced in the basal layer. The thick supportive layer of dermis contains nerve endings, blood vessels, sweat glands, hair follicles, and oil glands. The hair follicle encloses the root of the hair. Oil glands associated with hair follicles secrete an oily substance (sebum) which lubricates the skin surface. The watery secretions of the tubular sweat glands are released onto the skin's surface through small pores. A layer of fat cells lies below the dermis.

At a Glance

skin summary

Quizzes

Male muscle, man flexing arm, bicep curl.

Facts You Should Know: The Human Body Quiz

3d illustration human heart. Adult Anatomy Aorta Black Blood Vessel Cardiovascular System Coronary Artery Coronary Sinus Front View Glowing Human Artery Human Heart Human Internal Organ Medical X-ray Myocardium

Human Organs

Superficial arteries and veins of face and scalp, cardiovascular system, human anatomy, (Netter replacement project - SSC)

The Human Body

Muscles of facial expression, human anatomy, (Netter replacement project - SSC). Human face, human head.

Characteristics of the Human Body

Related Questions

How do dermal papillae contribute to fingerprints?
How do desmosomes help hold epidermal cells together?
How do elastic fibers allow skin to return to shape after stretching?
How do glycosaminoglycans help the dermis retain water?
How do hair follicles and skin glands develop in relation to the epidermis and dermis?
How do keratinocytes move from the basal layer to the surface of the epidermis?
How do melanocytes produce skin pigment?
How do melanocytes transfer pigment to nearby keratinocytes?
How do membrane-coating granules contribute to the skin barrier?
How do nerves in the dermis detect heat, cold, pain, and pressure?
How do ridges beneath the epidermis strengthen the connection between the epidermis and dermis?
How do skin blood vessels help regulate body temperature?
How do sweat glands respond when body temperature rises?
How does collagen give the dermis strength?
How does keratin help make the outer layer of skin tough?
How does melanin help protect epidermal cells from ultraviolet radiation?
How does sweat evaporation cool the body?
How does the epidermis protect the body from infection and dryness?
How does the human epidermis shed differently from a snake’s outer skin layer?
How does the skin help control blood pressure?
How does the skin protect the body from microbes and harmful sunlight?
How does the stratum corneum reduce water loss from the body?
How does the subcutis cushion and insulate the body?
How many main layers does human skin have?
How much of total body weight is made up by human skin?
How often does the human body replace much of its outer skin layer?
What are the differences between eumelanin and phaeomelanin?
What are the layers of the epidermis from deepest to most superficial?
What are the two major regions of the dermis?
What changes in melanocytes cause skin to tan after sunlight exposure?
What happens to keratinocytes as they reach the stratum corneum?
What role do Langerhans cells play in the immune defense of the skin?
What role do lymph vessels in the skin play in immune responses?
What role does the stratum basale play in replacing skin cells?
Where is the stratum lucidum found in human skin?
Which layer of human skin forms the outer protective barrier?
Why are there no blood vessels in the living epidermis?
Why can people have different skin colors even when they have similar numbers of melanocytes?
Why do blood vessels in the skin narrow in cold conditions?
Why do blood vessels in the skin widen when the body needs to lose heat?
Why do cells in the stratum corneum lose their nuclei?
Why do cells in the stratum spinosum have a spiny appearance?
Why does skin become abnormally thick in psoriasis?
Why does skin redden around an injury or infection?
Why does the epidermis receive nutrients by diffusion from the dermis?
Why is the epidermis thickest on areas exposed to friction?
Why is the stratum lucidum easier to identify on the palms and soles?

Health & Medicine Anatomy & Physiology

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External Websites

WebMD - An Overview of the Skin
Cleveland Clinic - Skin
National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Structural and biophysical characteristics of human skin in maintaining proper epidermal barrier function
Live Science - Skin: Facts about the body's largest organ and its functions
Teach Me Anatomy - Ultrastructure of Skin
Verywell Health - The Anatomy of the Skin
Oncology Nursing Society - Anatomy and Physiology of the Skin
American Academy of Dermatology - Skin care basics
Better Health Channel - Skin explained

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

skin - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
skin - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

human skin

anatomy

Written by

F. John G. Ebling

Professor of Zoology, 1968–82; Independent Research Worker in Dermatology, University of Sheffield, England. Coeditor of and contributor to Textbook of Dermatology.

F. John G. EblingAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

History

human skin, in human anatomy, the covering, or integument, of the body’s surface that both provides protection and receives sensory stimuli from the external environment. The skin consists of three layers of tissue: the epidermis, an outermost layer that contains the primary protective structure, the stratum corneum; the dermis, a fibrous layer that supports and strengthens the epidermis; and the subcutis, a subcutaneous layer of fat beneath the dermis that supplies nutrients to the other...

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