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Could you imagine what we would look like without skin?  As much as I hate my freckles (clumps of melanin) I have to respect what my skin does. I was amazed to find that our skin is an organ,  and the largest one, imagine that. It has a job like all organs.  Being exposed to the outside world it is tough,yet elastic and waterproof. It protects the eyes, a protective layer called junctiva (skin). Here’s somthing interesting an average person has about 22 square feet of skin that wieghs 8-10 pounds (3.6 – 4.5 kilograms). 

The skin has two layers the outside epidermis and the inside dermis. The epidermis have special cells called melanocytes . Melanocytes produce a dark pigment called melanin (clumps are called freckles)  which gives the skin its color and protects us from the sun.  There are around 60,000 per square inch.   The thickness  varies by location on the body. These layers protects us from air,water,dirt,germs, and regulates body temperature.

The dermis contains the sweat glands, blood vessels, nerves, and hair follicles. Each follicle contains a hair root and as the cell dies it produces a hair to protect our body. Hair as a protection, never thought of it like that. Hair sure can sometimes be a headache for women especially when it’s on her face I just can’t figure out what our body is protecting us from, by putting hair on our face. It would save women so much time if  hair didn’t grow on women’s legs and under their arms.

The most important job is to hold fluids inside the body. I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t want mine any where else and I sure wouldn’t want to share fluids with everyone I met.   It contains sensitive nerves that that let us touch and sense temperates. This is important so we can feel the softness of a pillow or the hot and cold of water. We might otherwise cook ourselves in hot water or freeze ourselves in cold water. The skin makes us aware of the world around us. I really like this part because I love being able to interact with the world: to feel the snow in winter and the sun in summer.

The feet and hands have a layer called the keratin (dead cell material)   that is thicker to protect them more, for they have more contact with the world. The fingernails and toenails are made keratin (dead cell material) called straum corneum. Those painful little knots on your feet are called corns are collections of keratin and actually are your bodies defense against ill fitting shoes but sometimes I wander what my body is thinking when I get these corns because the pain sure hurts me more than my shoes.

Well I guess the skin is important it keeps me together and hey, I really appeciate the job it does. Otherwise I would be a mass of gushy something with no form or reason. So I vote five stars for skin as the most important organ of the body. What do you think?