Merkel Cells In The Skin

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The largest organ in the body is skin. The weight of skin is twice as much as the brain, approximately 3-5kg. Skin thickness varies according to function and area of the body. Glands sensitive to temperature changes and a layer of fatty tissue under the surface of the skin are found in the skins thick outer layers. Skin contains many cells that are sensitive to touch, pain, pressure, itching and temperature.

The epidermis is composed of stratified keratinized squamous epithelium and is made up of many layers near the surface of the skin (McLafferty, Hendry, and Farley, 2012). There are four main types of cells in the epidermis, keratinocytes make up 90% of the cells found in this layer. 8% of epidermal cells are made up of melanocytes which produce melanin known as pigment. Langerhans cells and Merkel cells are also contained within the epidermis. The immune response is protected by Langerhans cells and Merkel cells function in the sensation of touch. The epidermis is avascular because it has no blood vessels and uses blood vessels of the dermis for oxygenation, metabolite provision and removal of metabolic waste products.
The epidermis is made up …show more content…

An early sign of cell death is when the nuclei is dark. This happens as the fluid is unable to reach them by diffusion, the nutrients and oxygen in the interstitial fluid are gone. In the skin, the stratum spinosum is a multi-layered arrangement of cuboidal cells that sits beneath the stratum granulosum. Adjacent cells are joined by desmosomes, giving them a spiny appearance when the cells shrink during the staining process while the desmosomes hold firm. Their nuclei are often darkened (a condition called pyknosis), which is an early sign of cell death. Their fate is sealed because the nutrients and oxygen in interstitial fluid have become exhausted before the fluid is able to reach them by

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