epidermis - Hutchinson encyclopedia article about epidermis Printer Friendly
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epidermis

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epidermis

Outermost layer(s) of cells on an organism's body. In plants and many invertebrates such as insects, it consists of a single layer of cells. In vertebrates, it consists of several layers of cells.

The epidermis of plants and invertebrates often has an outer noncellular cuticle that protects the organism from desiccation.

In vertebrates, such as reptiles, birds, and mammals, the outermost layer of cells is dead, forming a tough, waterproof layer, which is sloughed off continuously or shed periodically.



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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
Just the same as though you prayed that a physician might only be called upon to prescribe for headaches, measles, and the stings of wasps, or any other slight affection of the epidermis.
The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas, Alexandre View in context
Gliddon was of opinion, from the redness of the epidermis, that the embalmment had been effected altogether by asphaltum; but, on scraping the surface with a steel instrument, and throwing into the fire some of the powder thus obtained, the flavor of camphor and other sweet-scented gums became apparent.
Poems by Poe, Edgar Allan View in context
Our outside and often thin and fanciful clothes are our epidermis, or false skin, which partakes not of our life, and may be stripped off here and there without fatal injury; our thicker garments, constantly worn, are our cellular integument, or cortex; but our shirts are our liber, or true bark, which cannot be removed without girdling and so destroying the man.
Walden & on the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Thoreau, Henry David View in context
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