Sense Organs – Skin

Skin as a Sense Organ

We have five different sense organs that perform many different tasks in our body.

Skin is our organ of touch and the largest organ of our body. We feel heat, pressure, cold, and pain by touch. Some of the sensory bodies connected to the nerve endings in the lower skin receive touch, some receive heat, and some receive pressure, cold, and pain.

The skin consists of 3 layers: epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis (subcutaneous tissue). The thicknesses of these 3 layers of the skin vary according to the anatomical regions of our body. For example, the thinnest area of the epidermis is our eyelids with 0.1 mm while the thickest areas are the palms of the hands and soles of the feet with 1.5 mm. 

Epidermis

It is the outermost layer of the skin and consists mostly of cells that we call keratinocytes. Does not contain vascular structures

Dermis

Below the epidermal layer is the second layer of the skin. In the dermis, there are intercellular support tissue and fibroblast cells, as well as nerve, vessel, lymphatic structures, sweat and sebaceous glands, and nail and hair follicles. Compared to the epidermis, there are much fewer cells and much more fibers.

Hypodermis (Subcutaneous Tissue)

This is the lowest layer of the skin and consists of cells that we call lipocytes.