Where is the thinnest layer of skin

Miller of Long Beach, California has complied the following information to serve as your resource. Different areas on the body have very different skin characteristics including thickness, color and texture. For example, the head clearly contains the most hair follicles on the body. Other areas, like the soles of your feet, have no hair follicles at all. On the soles of your feet and on the palm of your hands, the skin is much thicker.

The epidermis is the thin outermost layer of the skin. Thickness in this layer varies by different skin types and location of the skin on the body. Mentioned earlier, the skin on the bottom of feet and on the palms of your hands is the thickest, which is on average 1. The thinnest skin on the body is found on the eyelids, which is on average 0. Male skin is generally thicker in all areas compared to female skin. The epidermis is composed of 3 parts. Several processes happen in these sub-layers.

The outer layer of the epidermis, called the stratum corneum, is responsible for protecting the skin from foreign objects and also for waterproofing the skin. These cells also help protect us from heat and toxins and are constantly shed.

Just beneath the stratum corneum is where the squamous cells are formed. These cells will mature and help form the stratum corneum. The deepest layer of the epidermis is the basal layer. The basal layer contains basal cells which are constantly dividing. In this article, we look at the differences in appearance, structure, and function of thin and thick skin.

Thin skin covers most of the body, except on the soles of the feet and palms of the hands, and contains fewer cellular layers than thick skin. The epidermis of thin skin ranges from 0. Thin skin can vary in thickness in different parts of the body and is particularly thin across the eyelids. Thin skin is thickest on the upper back.

This is because these areas receive more friction than other areas of the body, and thicker skin helps to protect from potential damage. The epidermis of thick skin can be up to 1.

Thick skin does not contain any hair follicles or sebaceous glands. Thick skin also contains no arrector pili muscles, which cause goosebumps. Thick skin is thicker due to it containing an extra layer in the epidermis, called the stratum lucidum. Thick skin actually has a thinner dermis layer than thin skin, but is still thicker due to the stratum lucidum layer present in the epidermis.

Thick and thin skin appear differently under a microscope. Thin skin contains four layers in the epidermis, while thick skin contains a fifth layer. These layers include :. The stratum basale, also known as the stratum germinativum, is the deepest layer of the epidermis.

It is the layer just above the dermis. This layer continuously produces new skin cells. It also contains melanocytes, which are cells that produce skin pigment and help protect the skin from sun damage. The stratum spinosum consists of eight to ten layers of cells. People may refer to the stratum spinosum as the prickle cell layer because of the irregular structure of cells, which look like spines or prickles.

The stratum granulosum consists of three to five layers of cells. The stratum granulosum contains granules, which are rich in lipids. Only thick skin contains the stratum lucidum layer. The stratum lucidum is a thin, transparent layer consisting of two to three layers of cells. It contains a protein called eleidin. The stratum corneum is the upper layer of the epidermis. It consists of 20—30 layers of cells. It contains keratin and horny scales, which make it tougher and able to thicken into calluses.

The stratum corneum contains dead keratinocytes, which produce defensins. Defensins are strings of amino acids that protect the body from infection. The pigment they manufacture is called melanin. Langerhans cells are dendritic cells derived from the bone marrow in the stratum spinosum that have an immunologic function. They are identical to tissue macrophages and present antigens to lymphocytes. Tasneem Poonawalla, M. Core Concepts of Pediatrics. Anatomy of the Skin Epidermis The epidermis is the most superficial layer of the skin and provides the first barrier of protection from the invasion of substances into the body.

The epidermis is subdivided into five layers or strata: stratum basale stratum spinosum stratum granulosum stratum lucidum stratum corneum Keratizination The principal cells of the epidermis are keratinocytes.