Vitiligo: a Breakdown Vitiligo is a skin disorder in which the skin has a deficiency of melanocytes in some areas, primarily around openings like the nose and mouth and areas with more bone prominences like the knees and elbows; however researchers have not yet discovered why this is, but currently the two most popular and widely accepted hypotheses are genetic and autoimmune causation. Vitiligo has also been noted to be be triggered, or impaired by psychological stress, hormonal changes like puberty
Human skin contains about the same number of melanocytes for each individual. Melanocytes are found in the epidermis of the skin. It is possible for every skin color to have a similar number of melanocytes because melanocytes produce a substance called melanin. Melanin breaks down into two substances called eumelanin and pheomelanin. Eumelanin is what controls how dark your skin will be. The more eumelanin the darker your skin. Genetics is what will determine how much and what kind of pigment you
equator (Jablonski and Chaplin 2002). Moreover, the darker pigments prote... ... middle of paper ... ...n heritage. Works Cited Jablonski, N. G. 2002. "The Naked Truth." Scientific American 42-49. Print. Lin, J. Y., and D.E. Fisher. 2007."Melanocyte Biology and Skin Pigmentation." Nature 445.7130: 843-50. Print. Mas, J. S., C. O. Sanchez, G. Ghanem, J. Haycock, J. A. Lozano Teruel, J. C. Garcia-Borron, and C. Jimenez-Cervantes. 2002. "Loss-of-function Variants of the Human Melanocortin-1 Receptor
Melanocytes are the cells responsible for the production of melanin, known as the tan or brown pigment produced to protect the skin from harmful sunrays. Melanocytes are located in the epidermis which is known as the first layer of skin. How melanoma skin cancer begins to form is by forming benign tumors. Which is basically a mass
patients, are presence of ulceration and tumor thickness (Dickson and Gershenwald, 2011). Stage 0 is considered as in situ and is 100% curable by surgical resection (Mocellin and Nitti, 2011). Stage I is defined as localized melanoma where malignant melanocytes are only found in the epidermis. The survival rate is high at this stage, between 70 % and 95% (Dickson and Greshenwald, 2011). Stage II melanomas have invaded the papillary dermis (Breslow, 1970). The 5-year survival rate for stage II patients
and cold. Pressure allows us to translate extreme pressure that results in the feeling of pain. Protection of the skin is an elastic resistant covering which prevents passage of harmful physical and chemical agents. The melanin produced by the melanocytes in the stratum germinativum protects us from the harms of UV rays. Keratin waterproofs the body which allows the handling of household chemicals, such as swimming in pool or taking a shower, to not be so disastrous to the underlying cells of the
Donna Samson D1MA111315 02-12-16 Vitiligo Vitiligo is an autoimmune disorder of the skin resulting in white patches. The body’s immune system targets and injures the melanocytes. Genetic factors play key roles through discoveries in association and family studies. The disappearance of the melanocytes is what causes the whites patches to appear. Patients who have the severe form of Vitiligo will lose pigment virtually anywhere on the body. Patients with mild Vitiligo, the disease may barely
The word melanoma comes from the Greek words, melas (black) and -oma (tumour). It is a very serious cancer that most often occurs in the skin and less frequently in the eye or in the lining of the nose, mouth, or genitals. Melanoma begins in melanocytes, cells that make a pigment called melanin. Both light- and dark-skinned people have melanin, which gives colour to the skin, hair, and parts of the eye. The skin is the largest organ in the body, so it isn’t surprising that skin cancer is the most
Clinical Description: Vitiligo is caused by the loss of cells (called melanocytes) that makes skin pigments. This result in milky white patches that is irregularly shaped, premature white or gray hair on the infected person’s scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows or beard. Also, loss of color or white patches can be seen in the mucous membranes and retina of an infected individual. The affected exposed affected skin parts are prone to sunburn. Vitiligo occurs in three different patterns which are: foci (depigmentation
1. Osmosis, Active transport, and Facilitated diffusion Osmosis: Osmosis is the facilitated diffusion of water across the cell membrane of a cell. The inside layer of the cell membrane is hydrophilic, meaning water cannot easily pass through the membrane. The cell membrane has to have aquaporins, which are water channel proteins, that move the water across the membrane. If there is a water and salt solution outside the cell, the salt can enter the cell by diffusion, but the cell membrane is not
In this paper, we discuss the evolution of skin pigmentation. In order to understand the evolution of skin pigmentation, we need to start off at the beginning and learn about melanin the main factor in skin pigmentation. The difference of your production of melanin can be a big factor in the medical issues you can get from ultraviolet radiation. Your skin is a layer of protection and similarly, your skin color is a layer of protection from the sun’s UVR. Based on where you live there are different
very serious type of skin cancer. The cancer starts in skin cells known melanocytes. Even though melanoma primarily affects skin cells, it also can grow in the eyes (uveal melanoma). Melanocytes are made up of melanin, which provides skin color and protects the deeper layers of the skin from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. When people are exposed to UV light, from the sun or, for example, in a tanning booth, the melanocyte cells make more melanin and pack together tighter, resulting in darker
Sunscreen Should Be Applied Melanoma is the most common and serious type of skin cancer that people often get when exposed to extreme amounts of UV rays. Cells called melanocytes give your skin and eyes their color. When the melanocytes are exposed to extreme amounts of UV rays, the cells become abnormal causing melanoma. If melanoma is left untreated, it may spread and grow on your skin and organs making it uncontrollable. Sunscreen on the other hand, can help to reduce the risk of skin
is the outer layer of the skin and functions as the major protection for the underlying skin and nerves. The epidermis is filled with tiny cells called keratin, which are dead cells that also help aid in protection. The epidermis also contains melanocytes which contain cells called melanin which are what give our skin color and absorb the light from the sun. The second layer of the skin is the dermis. This is the thicker layer just beneath the epidermis. This layer contains collagen and elastin fibers
lesser degree, we have the variation in human pigmentation that is seen today. Melanin is the product of cells located within the skin called melanocytes.The function of melanocytes is to manufacture the pigments eumelanin and phaeomelanin. Eumelanin, which is more photostable than phaeomelanin, is the main product of the melanocytes. In melanin, various chemicals, under the influence of enzymes, build a very stable compound that is distributed throughout the body of pigmented peoples. In an experiment
Malignant melanoma is a type of cancer arising from the melanocyte cells of the skin. The melanocytes are cells in the skin that produce the pigment melanin. Malignant melanoma develops when the melanocytes no longer respond to normal control mechanisms of cellular growth and are capable of invasion locally or spread to other organs in the body (metastasis), where again they invade and compromise the function of that organ. Description Melanocytes, embryologically derived from the neural crest, are
Malignant Melanoma is a type of malignant cancer that affects the melanocytes. A melanocyte produces the pigmentation in our skin and melanin gives us the color to our skin. These cells occur in the skin and can be found in other parts of the body. It is important to realize that melanoma can begin in any part of the body that can contain a melanocyte. Melanoma is considered less common than other skin cancers. It is a cancer that can be very dangerous if not detected early. Although in most cases
The Integumentary system contains the hair, the skin, nerves, nails and glands. There are four types of glands of the Integumentary system. 1.) Sudoriferous glands. 2.) Cerminous glands. 3.) Sebaceous glands. 4.) Mammary glands What are the functions? The Integumentary system protects the body from infections and regulates temperature. It also, protects your body living organs. The integumentary system helps to get rid of waste and sensation plays a big role in this system. It plays as your touch
of skin cancer. Melanoma is complicated from how it happens, the signs and symptoms, causes, risk factors and treatment. There are so many types of cancers, but Melanoma is a cancer that you do not hear of as often. Melanoma starts in the melanocytes. Melanocytes are the cells that make the pigment melanin according to (www.skincancer.org). Cancerous growths can develop from UV lights and the sun. A source of UV lights would be tanning bed. These sources caused cells to trigger mutation. The trigger
All people are born with hair on their head and many people decide to change it over their lifetimes. Some people cut it and others dye it and some people lighten their hair. So what causes your hair to lighten? The hair on your head is comprised of a tough protein called keratin. There are two types of keratin. One being the α-keratins otherwise known as the alpha keratin which produces hair, horns, nails and hooves found on mammals and the other is called the β-keratins also referred to as the