Skin physiology

Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation.

skin color of an individual as a result of genetics

body causing its hairs to stand on end

series of events that restore integrity to a damaged tissue, following an injury

In medicine, photosensitivity is an abnormal reaction of the skin to light. There are two types: photoallergy and phototoxicity. The photosensitive ganglion cells in the mammalian eye are a separate class of light-detecting cells from the photoreceptor cells that function in vision.

property of the human body that causes continuous variation in the electrical characteristics of the skin

Human disease

Photoprotection is the biochemical process that helps organisms cope with molecular damage caused by sunlight. Plants and other oxygenic phototrophs have developed a suite of photoprotective mechanisms to prevent photoinhibition and oxidative stress caused by excess or fluctuating light conditions. Humans and other animals have also developed photoprotective mechanisms to avoid UV photodamage to the skin, prevent DNA damage, and minimize the downstream effects of oxidative stress.

water loss across epidermis

route through which substances may be received

Formation of pyrimidine dimers in DNA due to UVB exposure