Vocabulary & Check Your Knowledge

Integumentary System Vocabulary

Adipocytes

Fat cells.

Adipose tissue

Fat tissue.

Autonomic nerve fibers

Unconsciously regulates communication to and from the brain.

Avascular

Without blood vessels.

Benign

Noncancerous, harmless.

Cancer

A process where abnormal cells in the body divide uncontrollably.

Cyanosis

Abnormal condition of blue (bluish colour, lips and nail beds). Typically caused by low oxygenation.

Debridement

Excision of damaged tissue or foreign object.

Dehydration

Loss of fluids/water is greater than what is taken in.

Dermatologic

Pertaining to dermatology.

Dermatopathology

Study of diseases of the skin.

Dermis

The layer of skin that is made of dense, irregular connective tissue that houses blood vessels, hair follicles, sweat glands, and other structures.

Epidermis

Outer layer of skin, made of closely packed epithelial cells.

Excises

Remove by cutting out.

Exocytosis

Active transport of molecules out of the cell.

Fascia

Fibrous tissue.

Frostbite

Conservation of core body heat results in the skin actually freezing.

Hypodermis

Literally means below the dermis. The layer of skin below the dermis that is composed mainly of loose connective and fatty tissues.

Infection

Invasion by disease-causing organisms.

Intravenous

Pertaining to within the vein.

Jaundiced

Yellow-coloured.

Keloid

Formation of a raised or hypertrophic scar.

Keratinocytes

Cells that manufacture and store the protein keratin.

Meissner corpuscle

Tactile corpuscle that responds to light and touch, touch receptor.

Meissner corpuscles

Tactile corpuscle that responds to light and touch, touch receptors.

Melanocytes

Specialized cells that produce melanin which is a dark pigment responsible for the colouration of skin and hair.

Metastasize

Production of cells that can mobilize and establish tumors in other organs of the body.

Necrosis

Tissue death.

Osteomalacia

Softening of the bones.

Pacinian corpuscle

Lamellated corpuscle that responds to vibration.

Pathogens

Disease-causing agents.

Phagocytes

Cells that engulf and absorb bacteria and cell particles.

Reticulated

Net like.

Rickets

A painful condition in children where bones are misshapen due to a lack of calcium, causing bow leggedness.

Scar

Collagen-rich skin formed after the process of wound healing that differs from normal skin.

Stratum Basale

Deepest layer of the epidermal.

Sympathetic nerve fibers

Flight or fight response determines communication to and from the brain.

Sympathetic Nervous System

Responsible for fight or flight responses.

Vascularized

Has numerous blood vessels.

Test Yourself

Integumentary System Glossary Reinforcement Activity (Text version)
  1. Cells that manufacture and store the protein keratin are called ______[Blank 1].
    1. Scar
    2. Vascularized
    3. Keratinocytes
  2. The outer layer of skin, made of closely packed epithelial cells are called____[Blank 2].
    1. Fascia
    2. Adipocytes
    3. Epidermis
  3. Specialized cells that produce melanin which is a dark pigment responsible for the colouration of skin and hair are called____[Blank 3].
    1. Necrosis
    2. Melanocytes
    3. Keloid
  4. Deepest layer of the epidermal is the _____[Blank 4].
    1. Dermis
    2. Fascia
    3. Stratum Basale
  5. Production of cells that can mobilize and establish tumors in other organs of the body are called _____[Blank 5].
    1. Pathogens
    2. Debridement
    3. Metastasize

Check your answers: [1]

Activity source: Integumentary System Glossary Reinforcement Activity by Gisele Tuzon and Kimberlee Carter, licensed under CC BY 4.0./Text version added.

Attribution

Except where otherwise noted, this chapter is adapted from “Integumentary System” in Building a Medical Terminology Foundation by Kimberlee Carter and Marie Rutherford licensed under CC BY 4.0. / A derivative of Betts et al., which can be accessed for free from Anatomy and Physiology (OpenStax). Adaptations: dividing Integumentary System chapter content into sub-chapters.

  1. 1. Keratinocytes, 2. Epidermis, 3. Melanocytes, 4. Stratum Basale, 5. Metastasize ↵

License

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Building a Medical Terminology Foundation 2e Copyright © 2024 by Kimberlee Carter; Marie Rutherford; and Connie Stevens is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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