Microscopic view
Step 1
Choose an organ
Step 2
Explore it in 3D
- Stratum Corneum: Dead cells forming the real barrier
- Epidermis: Outer protective layer
- Dermis: Nerves, vessels & glands
- Hair Follicle: Anchors each hair
- Sebaceous Gland: Oil that waterproofs skin and hair
- Sweat Gland: Evaporative cooling — the body's thermostat
- Melanocytes: Pigment cells shielding DNA from ultraviolet light
- Capillary Loop: Dermal vessels that flush or clamp to manage heat
- Nerve Endings: Touch, temperature, and pain receptors
- Hypodermis: Fat and insulation
- Stratum Basale: The germinal row — every keratinocyte is born here, and the melanocytes sit among them
- Arrector Pili: Smooth muscle from follicle to dermis; sympathetic fibres contract it and the hair stands up
- Hair Bulb: The growing end, where matrix cells divide around a dermal papilla that feeds them
- Reticular Layer: The deep dermis — coarse collagen bundles and elastic fibres that give skin its strength
- Deep Vascular Plexus: Artery and vein at the dermal-fat border, the source of everything above
- Skin Ligaments: Fibrous strands crossing the fat, tying the dermis down to the deep fascia
Step 3
Keep learning
Compare organs
Skin vs. intestine
Function animation
Protects, senses, and cools
Clinical notes
Red flags
- A mole changing in size, shape, or colour — asymmetry, a ragged border, many colours, growth — is melanoma until excised.
- Redness spreading by the hour with fever, or pain far beyond what the skin shows, raises necrotising infection.
- A blistering rash that peels in sheets and involves the mouth or eyes, days after a new drug — Stevens-Johnson territory.
- Eczema
- Psoriasis
- Melanoma
- Acne vulgaris
- Cellulitis
- Contact dermatitis
- Rosacea
- Vitiligo
Where it works