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Print articleSkin problems health centre
Get inside your skin
It protects us from injuries and infections, and it shields us from light and heat. It helps regulate our temperature, relays information about our environment to the brain, manufactures vitamin D, and stores water, and fat. Consisting of three layers – the epidermis, the dermis and the subcutaneous tissue – the skin is the body's largest organ, weighing about 2.7 kg (6 pounds). As our most visible organ, it plays an important part in appearance.
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Epidermis
The top layer of skin, the epidermis, is a translucent layer made of the cells that manufacture skin. The outer layer contains dead skin cells that are continually shed. Keratin, a protein formed from cells called keratinocytes, protects the skin from harmful substances. Underneath are flat, scale-like cells called squamous cells, and beneath them are round basal cells. The epidermis also contains cells that produce melanin (melanocytes), which gives skin its colour.
Medically Reviewed by Dr Rob Hicks on May 31, 2011
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