Skin AppendagesWhat nails and hair say about you and your health. Skin appendages include the nails, hair and glands. The way nails and hair looks can tell you a lot about your health. The Nails Nails are horny plates firmly attached to the nail bed (the skin below the plate). Cells at the base of your nail bed produce the plate. Cuticles protect the freshly formed kertin cells which form the plate. Nails grow from the matrix found underneath the cuticle. The lunula is the white half moon at the base of your nail (underneath the plate) The skin surrounding your nail on three sides are known as the folds.
Changes in the nails can indicate a serious condition or disease. The most common conditions which may effect the nails are:
Hair Hair grows everywhere on the human body except the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, eyelids, and lips. Similar to the nails, hair grows from a matrix. The hair is divided into two parts: the protruding shaft and the root. Together with the hair papillae, the root is responsible for its nourishment, development and growth. Connective tissue surround the root and these together form the hair follicle. ' The glands of the skin (glandulae cutis) include sweat, scent, sebaceous and milk. Sebaceous glands are almost always connect to hair follicles, which deliver sebum (oil) to the surface. The size of the gland and the amount of oil delivered to the surface vary according to body part. Glands on the face are bigger than those on the arms or legs. |
1. Hair shaft 2. Sebaceous gland 3. Bulbis 4. Hair papilla 5. Sweat gland
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