Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Sensory Functions of the Skin

Sensory Functions of the Skin

The skin is the largest organ of the human body and plays a crucial role in our sensory perception. It contains a vast network of sensory receptors that contribute to the skin's protective function by perceiving physical, biological, and environmental cues and generating relevant responses.
There are two main categories of receptors on the skin: capsulated and non-capsulated. The non-capsulated ones are mainly the pain receptors. The capsulated ones can be further categorized based on the...

Somatosensation

Somatosensation

The somatosensory system relays sensory information from the skin, mucous membranes, limbs, and joints. Somatosensation is more familiarly known as the sense of touch. A typical somatosensory pathway includes three types of long neurons: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary neurons have cell bodies located near the spinal cord in groups of neurons called dorsal root ganglia. The sensory neurons of ganglia innervate designated areas of skin called dermatomes.

Renewal of Skin Epidermal Stem Cells

Renewal of Skin Epidermal Stem Cells

The skin is divided into epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis, the skin's outermost, middle, and inner layers. The human epidermal layer regularly undergoes renewal, where old, dead cells are replaced by new cells. Epidermal stem cells or EpiSCs divide and differentiate to restore the lost cells. For the renewal process, some EpiSCs continuously self-renew. In contrast, few others differentiate into transit-amplifying cells, which later form prickle or spinous cells, followed by granular cells,...

Tactile and Chemical Senses

Tactile and Chemical Senses

Tactile senses encompass touch, temperature, and pain, each mediated by specific receptors. Touch receptors detect mechanical energy or pressure against the skin. Sensory fibers from these receptors enter the spinal cord and relay information to the brain stem. Here, most fibers cross over to the opposite side of the brain. The touch information then moves to the thalamus, which projects a map of the body's surface onto the somatosensory areas of the parietal lobes in the cerebral cortex. This...

Nociception

Nociception

Nociception—the ability to feel pain—is essential for an organism’s survival and overall well-being. Noxious stimuli such as piercing pain from a sharp object, heat from an open flame, or contact with corrosive chemicals are first detected by sensory receptors, called nociceptors, located on nerve endings. Nociceptors express ion channels that convert noxious stimuli into electrical signals. When these signals reach the brain via sensory neurons, they are perceived as pain. Thus, pain helps the...

The Skin Microbiota

The Skin Microbiota

The human skin serves as a complex ecosystem inhabited by a diverse community of microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses. This microbiome plays a critical role in maintaining skin health and defending against pathogenic invaders. The composition of microbial communities varies significantly across different regions of the body, influenced primarily by the local levels of moisture and sebum.Regional Variation in Skin MicrobiotaCutibacterium acnes predominantly colonizes sebaceous...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Assessment of Drug Delivery Kinetics to Epidermal Targets In Vivo.

The AAPS journal·2021

Same author

Stratum Corneum Sampling to Assess Bioequivalence between Topical Acyclovir Products.

Pharmaceutical research·2019

Same author

Topical bioavailability of diclofenac from locally-acting, dermatological formulations.

International journal of pharmaceutics·2017

Same author

A mechanistic approach to modelling the formation of a drug reservoir in the skin.

Mathematical biosciences·2016

Same author

Hydration and N-acetyl-l-cysteine alter the microstructure of human nail and bovine hoof: implications for drug delivery.

Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society·2011

Same author

Extraction and quantification of amino acids in human stratum corneum in vivo.

The British journal of dermatology·2010

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 9, 2026

Using R, Seurat, and CellChat to Analyze a Single-Cell Transcriptomics Dataset of Mouse Skin Wound Healing

Using R, Seurat, and CellChat to Analyze a Single-Cell Transcriptomics Dataset of Mouse Skin Wound Healing

Published on: August 1, 2025

Richard Guy and his collaborators: 'crackling' the skin code.

M B Delgado-Charro¹

¹Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, University of Bath, Bath, UK. B.Delgado-Charro@bath.ac.uk

Skin Pharmacology and Physiology

|August 8, 2013

Summary

Richard Guy

Area of Science:

Dermal and transdermal drug delivery research.
Skin barrier function and characterization.
Nanoparticle delivery and skin penetration.

Background:

Summarizes the significant contributions of Richard Guy and collaborators to skin science.
Highlights foundational work in modeling skin absorption and barrier properties.
Reviews the application of advanced spectroscopic and imaging techniques.

Discussion:

Details the impact of Guy's group on understanding skin permeation enhancement.
Explores methodologies for assessing topical bioavailability and dermatopharmacokinetics.
Discusses the role of techniques like iontophoresis and reverse iontophoresis.

Key Insights:

Established gold-standard methodologies for skin penetration assessment.

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 9, 2026

Using R, Seurat, and CellChat to Analyze a Single-Cell Transcriptomics Dataset of Mouse Skin Wound Healing

Using R, Seurat, and CellChat to Analyze a Single-Cell Transcriptomics Dataset of Mouse Skin Wound Healing

Published on: August 1, 2025

Advanced the understanding of drug delivery mechanisms across the skin barrier.

Pioneered the use of spectroscopy and imaging for skin characterization.

Outlook:

Continued advancements in topical and transdermal drug delivery systems.
Further exploration of nanoparticle disposition and skin penetration pathways.
Integration of novel techniques for enhanced drug efficacy and safety.