GLOSSARY

The integumentary system comprises the skin and its appendages, namely hair, nails, sweat glands, and sebaceous glands, and forms the boundary between the body and the outside environment.
The word comes from the Latin integumentum, meaning “covering”.

Components

In adults, the skin covers about 1.5 to 2 square metres and makes up about 16 percent of body weight; it consists of the epidermis and dermis, with the hypodermis beneath.

Functions