« Back to General Dermatology FAQs

Structure and Function of The Skin

»	Name the three layers of the skin. What composes them?
»	How many layers are there in the epidermis? How are they organized?
»	Do other types of cells normally occur in the epidermis?
»	What is apocopation?
»	Describe the structure of the basement membrane zone (BMZ).
»	How is the structure of the epidermis related to its functions?
»	What structural components of the epidermis are involved in blistering diseases?
»	Are there hereditary diseases of the BMZ and dermis that cause blistering and damage to the skin?
»	Are there acquired blistering diseases of the BMZ and dermis?
»	What abnormalities in structural components of the basement membrane are involved in bullous skin diseases?
»	What is the function of the sebaceous gland?
»	How do the eccrine sweat glands and apocrine sweat glands differ?
»	How is the dermis organized?
»	What are the components of the dermis?
»	What are the functions of the dermis?
»	Which structural component of the dermis is involved in congenital and autoimmune skin diseases?
»	How does the vasculature of the dermis function in temperature control?
»	How is the skin innervated?
»	Name the two main corpuscular (encapsulated) nerve receptors found in the skin.
»	Is loss of cutaneous sensation very serious?
»	How is the subcutis organized?

What abnormalities in structural components of the basement membrane are involved in bullous skin diseases?

Structures within the basement membrane can be congenitally absent or decreased in number, or, as with the epidermal desmosomes, they can be affected by antibodies directed against them. In the uppermost portion of the BMZ, in the lamina lucida, hemidesmosomes bind the basal keratinocytes to the basement membrane.

Bullous pemphigoid is an acquired blistering disease in which antihemidesmosomal antibodies are produced. These antibodies appear to induce inflammation and subsequent damage to the hemidesmosomes, causing a blister to develop between the cells and basement membrane.