Once upon a time there was a cyclops names Rex roaming throughout the forest. While he was walking he heard a strange noise coming from the bushes.

Rex ignored the noise at first, until he realized it was a small boy crying for help. Rex slowly walked over and asked the boy if he needed help. The boy responded with a nod and took Rex’s hand.

Rex was quite confused because he had never seen a human before, so when he returned the small boy to his dad, a dermatologist, he asked him about skin.

“First of all What is it for?” Rex asked

“Well, it actually serves many functions,” the dermatologist said,” First, Protection. Protection from water, bacteria, and other harmful substances from entering the body. Different parts of the skin actually do this, but we’ll get to that later. Second, Insulation and Protection. Our bones, muscles, organs, blood, and everything under the skin need protection, and our integumentary system serves to the protection of these things.

Our skin protects us from Mechanical damage; such as cuts and bruises, chemical damages; such as acids and bases, thermal damage; such as freezing and burning, and Radiation: sunlight. Lastly, our skin serves the function of allowing us to feel through touch. Directly under the skin - all around our body - nerve endings and touch receptors give us the sense of feeling and touch. Through these endings and receptors is why we feel pain and pleasure, hot and cold.”

“I see!” Rex said amused,” But now what are some major parts, or Organs, of the Integumentary System?”

“Well, first and most obvious the skin - A thin layer of tissue forming the outer covering of the body.

There are three main parts to the skin - the Dermis, Epidermis, and Hypodermis. The Dermis is the inner layer of skin and is made up of dense connective tissue. The Epidermis is the outer layer of skin and is made up of stratified squamous epithelium. Lastly, the Epidermis is sub-part of the dermis, and connects the skin to our organs.

The little boy then said,” Rex what are you made of? Why do you have only one eye?”

“Not now, son,” the dermatologist said.

“Anyways,” said the dermatologist,” Next is hair and nails, which grow on and from our skin. Hair is a very thin and threadlike strand that grows from our skin, we have over 100,000 on just our head alone at birth. Our nails are scale like modifications of the epidermis, they are located on our fingers and toes and nails are kind of like um  to your claws.”

“And the last four important Organs to the Integumentary system is a series of glands - Sudoriferous, Sebaceous, Meissner, and Pacinian. The Sudoriferous gland produces sweat, a liquid substance that comes out from underneath our skin when the body is hot.

Sebaceous gland produce oil around our entire body, except our feet and hands. Meissner is responsible for responding to the sensitivity of light touch, and Pacinian is responsible for reacting for pressure and vibration.

“Okay, I see, sort of...” Rex said,” Now can you explain the functions?”

“Sure, you have nowhere to be, right?” The father asked.

No, not really,” Rex shrugged,” I’m a cyclops, we don’t do much.”

“Okay, so we’ll go in the same order. The skin is for protection, regulation, and insulation, and I have already explained the functions more in detail. Next, the Epidermis, which the function is solely for protection of the skin. It is waterproof so our skin doesn’t swell when it’s wet, and it does not let germs enter our body.

The dermis, on the other hand, is responsible for containing the nerve endings and the glands. In effect, the dermis plays a part in helping us have a feeling of touch and temperature.

What about the hypodermis, Dad?” The little boy asked, becoming more comfortable.

The Hypodermis is for protecting our body, because it insulates and pads our body.

Hair serves a lot of functions. It protects dust and particles from our nose and ears. Eyebrows and eyelashes decreases light particles. It also regulates temperature by keeping us warm. Nails, not as much, but they are still very important. Nails protect the fingertip and surrounding soft tissue areas from injuries

“And that is about it!” The dermatologist smiled.

“What about the four glands?” The Cyclops asked.

“I already covered that when I first told you about them!” The dermatologist laughed.

“Hey Dad, so what's the whole passage way through the integumentary system?”

“Well let's start at the beginning son” The Dad said as he was pointing at a diagram. “This diagram describes the pathway of how body temp is controlled.