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Article: Skin deep! (skin care and health problems; includes related articles on skin cancer and other skin ailments) (Cover Story)
- Article from:
- Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication
- Article date:
- December 1, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Weekly Reader Corp. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A glance at the cross-section will show you how complex the skin is. A typical patch of skin the size and thickness of a quarter contains about 30 million cells, 600 sweat glands, 100 oil glands, 20 blood vessels, 65 hair follicles, and thousands of nerve endings.
Living skin is made up of two distinct layers lying on a bed of fat globules separating it from the muscles and bones below. A microscopically thin layer of dead cells called the stratum corneum (horny layer) lies between the skin and the outside world.
The innermost and thickest layer of skin is called the dermis. This is where you will find collagen and elastin fibers, which give skin its ...