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The epidermis is the outermost of the three layers that comprise the skin, the inner layers being the dermis and hypodermis. [1] The epidermal layer provides a barrier to infection from environmental pathogens [ 2 ] and regulates the amount of water released from the body into the atmosphere through transepidermal water loss .
Keratinized epithelium has keratin deposited on the surface which makes it impermeable and dry. Examples of keratinized stratified squamous epithelium include skin, the epidermis of the palm of the hand, and the sole of the foot, [3] and the masticatory mucosa.
The stratum corneum (Latin for 'horned layer') is the outermost layer of the epidermis. Consisting of dead tissue, it protects underlying tissue from infection, dehydration, chemicals and mechanical stress. It is composed of 15–20 layers of flattened cells with no nuclei and cell organelles.
The outer root sheath corresponds with the stratum mucosum (stratum germinativum and stratum spinosum) [1] of the epidermis, and resembles it in the rounded form and soft character of its cells; at the bottom of the hair follicle these cells become continuous with those of the root of the hair.
The epidermis itself is devoid of blood supply and draws its nutrition from its underlying dermis. [5] Its main functions are protection, absorption of nutrients, and homeostasis. In structure, it consists of a keratinized stratified squamous epithelium; four types of cells: keratinocytes, melanocytes, Merkel cells, and Langerhans cells.
A diagram displaying the layers of the epidermis, with basal cells comprising the stratum basale. In the epidermis, basal cells function as unipotent stem cells. [5] Found in the lowest layer of the epidermis, the stratum basale, basal cells continuously divide in order to replenish the squamous cells that make up the skin's surface. [6]
Histologic image showing a section of epidermis. Stratum spinosum labeled slightly below center. The stratum spinosum (or spinous layer/prickle cell layer) [1] is a layer of the epidermis found between the stratum granulosum and stratum basale. [2] This layer is composed of polyhedral keratinocytes. [3] [4] These are joined with desmosomes. [3]
The epidermis is the outermost cell layer of the primary plant body. In some older works the cells of the leaf epidermis have been regarded as specialized parenchyma cells, [1] but the established modern preference has long been to classify the epidermis as dermal tissue, [2] whereas parenchyma is classified as ground tissue. [3]