While the body has some large and heavy internal organs, the skin is actually considered the largest organ in the body.
Skin: the Body's Largest Organ
The skin plays vital functions for the body. It helps protect the body from stressors from the environment, receive sensory data, regulate body temperature, store fat, keep vitamin D, and store water.
The skin, including its sweat glands, oil glands, nails, and hair, is part of the integumentary system. The term directly refers to the outer covering of the body.
There are three tissue layers that comprise the skin. These are the hypodermis, which is the fatty bottom layer; the dermis, which is the middle layer; and the epidermis, which is the top layer.
The hypodermis helps in cushioning bones and muscles, connecting skin layers to bones and muscles, aiding the blood vessels and nerves, and regulating body temperature. On the other hand, the dermis aids in hair growth, keeping the sense of touch, oil production, sweat production, and blood supply. Lastly, the epidermis serves as a protective barrier, makes new skin, provides the color of skin, and protects the body.
Collagen accounts for roughly 75% of the skin. It can be found in the dermis and is considered the skin's most abundant protein. Collagen is also considered a fountain of youth as it helps ward off fine lines and wrinkles. As time passes, aging and environmental factors affect the body's capacity to make collagen. These may also break down collagen that is already there.
There is also another protein, known as elastin, that can be found with collagen in the dermis layer. This protein gives structure and support to the skin and organs. Similar to that of collagen, time and other elements affect elastin. Diminished elastin levels lead to sagging and wrinkles.
Keratin is also present in the skin. It is considered the strongest among other proteins. Dominant in hair and nails, keratin is what forms the skin's rigidity.
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How Heavy Is The Skin?
The skin accounts for roughly 16% of the body's overall mass. It also has a thickness of roughly two millimeters.
For most adults, skin can weigh up to 20 pounds or even more. The exact weight of skin may vary from person to person. Skinnier individuals tend to have less heavy skin compared to their heavier counterparts.
If the skin of an average adult were to be torn off and spread out, it may cover around two square meters.
While the skin is largely considered the human body's largest organ, there is actually a 2018 study that suggests that the interstitium could be the body's largest organ. The study's findings categorize the interstitium as an organ and suggest that it could be even bigger than the skin. If the medical community agrees that the interstitium is an organ, it would be considered the body's 90th and largest organ.
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