FIND ARTICLE

NEUROENDOCRINE FUNCTION OF SKIN

The skin constitutes the metabolically active biological barrier separating the internal milieu of mammalian organism and the external environment. The skin is continuously exposed to hostile environmental factors, therefore the anatomic localization determines its many functions. Both, the central endocrine system and the cutaneous endocrine system control and integrate the functions. All factors controlling the activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-target organ axis are expressed in the skin.

SKIN AND ITS FUNCTION IN STEROID HORMONE SYNTHESIS

The skin is a complex organ of human body, which plays an essential role, providing physical barrier against mechanical, chemical and biological factors and, through its pigments produced in melanocytes, provides defense system against UV radiation, and reduces the risk of UV-induced DNA damage in human epidermis. The skin is composed of three layers: epidermis and its derivatives, dermis, and hypodermis. The function of the skin, especially hair growth and activity of sebaceous glands, is regulated by sex steroids, and skin is the target organ for these hormones.

The Editorial Board
Andrzej Łukaszyk - przewodniczący, Zofia Bielańska-Osuchowska, Szczepan Biliński, Mieczysław Chorąży, Aleksander Koj, Włodzimierz Korochoda, Leszek Kuźnicki, Aleksandra Stojałowska, Lech Wojtczak

Editorial address:
Katedra i Zakład Histologii i Embriologii Uniwersytetu Medycznego w Poznaniu, ul. Święcickiego 6, 60-781 Poznań, tel. +48 61 8546453, fax. +48 61 8546440, email: mnowicki@ump.edu.pl

PBK Postępby biologi komórki