Skin Cell Division Process

Skin cells grow and divide in the basement membrane.

Skin cell division process.

The diagram to the right summarizes events leading to cell division. In the case of skin cells it takes place in the basal layer of the epidermis. Skin cells die slough off and are replaced by new skin cells. The original cell is called the mother cell and the two new cells are called daughter cells.

The deepest layer is the subcutis which is beneath the dermis and the outermost layer is the epidermis. The skin possesses three layers. Examples of cells that are produced through mitosis include cells in the human body for the skin blood and muscles. The desquamation process happens in the outermost layer of the skin called the epidermis the epidermis itself has four unique layers.

About 90 percent of a cell s time in the normal cell cycle may be spent in interphase. After an injury to the skin white blood cells move to the wound followed by various immune cells and then other cells follow. This process is repeated until the cycle is complete. In comparison brain and nerve cells seldom reproduce.

Cells divide for many reasons. This is depicted in the diagram as cells that cease division also known as the g 0 phase or the resting phase the term resting phase is a misnomer however. For example when you skin your knee cells divide to replace old dead or damaged cells. Mitosis is a type of cellular division in which one cell called the parent divides into two identical daughter cells reports dawn tamarkin ph d of springfield technical community college.

Skin cells belong in the category of somatic cells and are duplicated at a rapid rate during life. The ability of cells to divide is unique for living organisms. Desquamation is the natural process in which skin cells are created sloughed away and replaced. Each layer of skin regenerates in response to injury using a different process.

Before a dividing cell enters mitosis it undergoes a period of growth called interphase. This process of renewal is basically exfoliation shedding of the epidermis. We call this process cell division and cell reproduction because new cells are formed when old cells divide. Regulation of cell division.

Why do cells divide. The cells in the superficial or upper layers of skin known as the epidermis are constantly replacing themselves. The process slows down as you get older but it never stops. Cell division occurs through a six phase mitosis process in which a somatic cell divides into two completely identical cells.