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Thick skin
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The skin is the largest organ of the human body with a total area of about 20 square feet (~1.9 square meters). Depending on its location, the skin thickness can vary, which is why the skin can be sub-classified into “thick skin” and “thin skin”. Histologically, the thickness of the skin depends mainly on the thickness of the epidermal layer. In areas where the skin is thick, the epidermal layer varies from 400 to 1400 μm.
The skin is the thickest on the soles of the feet and palms of the hands. The thick skin has five layers of the epidermis in comparison to the thin skin which has four. These five layers include (deep to superficial):
- Basal layer
- Spinous layer
- Granular layer
- Strutum lucidum
- Stratum corneum
Note that the main histological difference between thick and thin skin is in presence of stratum lucidum in thick skin. Stratum lucidum is a translucent layer of flattened keratinocytes held together by desmosomes.
| Terminology |
English: Thick skin Latin: Thick skin |
| Definition | The skin found on soles and palms. |
| Layers | Basal layer, spinous layer, granular layer, stratum lucidum, stratum corneum |
Learn everything about the skin with the following study unit:
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