Page:Structure and functions of the body; a hand-book of anatomy and physiology for nurses and others desiring a practical knowledge of the subject (IA structurefunctio00fiskrich).pdf/46

 *ing blood-vessels, lymphatics, and nerves, as well as unstriped muscle fibers where hair is present.

At the apertures of the body the skin stops and is replaced by mucous membrane, an integument of greater delicacy but which consists fundamentally of the same two layers, a superficial, bloodless epithelium and a deep fibrous derma. It is continuous with the skin, but is much redder and more sensitive and bleeds more easily. The passages and cavities that it lines, unlike those lined by serous membranes, communicate with the exterior of the body and are for that reason protected against contact with foreign substances by mucus, which is thicker and more sticky than the lymph that moistens the endothelium found on serous surfaces. Mucous membrane is found in the alimentary canal, the respiratory tract, and the genito-urinary tract. In cavities, like the stomach and intestines, which are subject to variations in capacity, it is thrown into folds or rugæ. The mucus is secreted by small glands in the membrane.

Appendages of the Skin.—The skin has various appendages. On the dorsal surface of the last phalanges of the fingers and toes are flattened and horny modifications of epithelium, the nails. They have a root embedded in a groove of skin by which they grow in length and a vascular matrix of derma beneath them which gives growth in thickness. To their growth in length there seems to be no limit.

The hairs also, which occur all over the body, except on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet, are a modification of the epithelium. Each hair has a bulbous root springing from an involution in the epidermis and derma called the hair follicle, into which one or two sebaceous glands empty. It is raised by involuntary muscle fibers and grows by constant additions to the surface by which it is attached. This growth seems, however, to be limited, and when its term is reached the hair falls out and is replaced by