Root sheath (hair)

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Root sheath
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Transverse section of hair follicle.
Anatomical terminology

The inner or epidermic coat of the hair follicle is closely adherent to the root of the hair, and consists of two strata named respectively the outer and inner root sheaths.

Contents

Outer root sheath

The outer root sheath corresponds with the stratum mucosum (stratum germinativum and stratum spinosum) [1] of the epidermis, and resembles it in the rounded form and soft character of its cells; at the bottom of the hair follicle these cells become continuous with those of the root of the hair.

Inner root sheath

The inner root sheath (IRS) consists of:

  1. a delicate cuticle next the hair, composed of a single layer of imbricated scales with atrophied nuclei;
  2. Huxley's layer
  3. Henle's layer

The term "trichilemmal" refers to the outer root sheath. [2] The IRS functions to mould, adhere, as well as participate in the keratinization of growing hair. [3]

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Sheath pronounced as, may refer to:

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Huxley's layer is the second layer of the inner root sheath of the hair and consists of one or two layers of horny, flattened, nucleated cells. It lies between Henle's layer and the cuticle.

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In mammals, trichocytes are the specialized epithelial cells from which the highly mechanically resilient tissues hair and nails are formed. They can be identified by the fact that they express "hard", "trichocyte" or "hair" keratin proteins. These are modified keratins containing large amounts of the amino acid cysteine, which facilitates chemical cross-linking of these proteins to form the tough material from which hair and nail is composed. These cells give rise to non-hair non-keratinized IRSC as well.

The inner root sheath or internal root sheath of the hair follicle is located between the outer root sheath and the hair shaft. It is made of three layers: Henle's layer, Huxley's layer, and the cuticle.

The outer root sheath or external root sheath of the hair follicle encloses the inner root sheath and hair shaft. It is continuous with the basal layer of the interfollicular epidermis (skin).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loose anagen syndrome</span> Medical condition

Loose anagen syndrome, also known as loose anagen hair syndrome, is a hair disorder related to dermatology. It is characterised by the easy and pain free detachment of anagen staged hairs from the scalp. This hair condition can be spontaneous or genetically inherited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trichohyalin</span>

Trichohyalin is a protein that in mammals is encoded by the TCHH gene.

Root sheath may refer to any of these biological structures:

References

  1. "The Common Integument - Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body - Yahoo! Education". Archived from the original on 2008-01-19. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  2. trichilemmal: Definition and Much More from Answers.com
  3. Joshi RS (January 2011). "The Inner Root Sheath and the Men Associated with it Eponymically". International Journal of Trichology. 3 (1): 57–62. doi: 10.4103/0974-7753.82119 . PMC   3129131 . PMID   21769243.