The skin has many functions including protection of the deeper tissue from mechanical damage, chemical damage as well as bacterial damage.
Melanin produced by the skin protects the body from UV rays which cause skin cancer. The skin also contains heat, cold and pain receptors which protect it from thermal damage. Other functions of the skin include excretion of urea and uric acid, synthesising of vitamin D and also helping in body heat loss. The skin is composed of three kinds of tissues:- 1)epidermis- which is the uppermost layer of the skin. 2) dermis- It is the largest part of the skin and contains most of the important stuff. It contains hair follicles, the sebaceous glands(oil glands), the arrestor pill muscles, the sweat glands as well as the blood vessels. 3)hypodermis:-the fatty layer present at the bottom of the skin. Some of the skin diseases include acne,wrinkles, burns, athlete's foot and boils,cold sores, impetigo and psoriasis. Sometimes, a number of tumours arise in skin which cause skin cancer such as basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, although they are curable. But the skin cancer Malignant Melanoma is a deadly cancer and cannot be cured. |