2.05 Physiology of Skin Color

• Introduction
• Learn
• Try It
• Task
• Unit Vocab
• Course Vocab

Introduction

What would happen if our melanocytes did not produce the pigment melanin? Answer

Our bodies make melanin using a few pigment genes, and melanin produces the color of our skin, hair, and eyes.  People with albinism have no working copies of one of these pigment genes which means no melanin is produced. So, they will have light skin, hair, and eyes. The lack of pigment places people at very high risk for UV damage and skin cancer.

Pictured below is a family from Tanzania. Notice how two of the siblings have the genetic condition, albinism.

Lesson Objectives

Following successful completion of this lesson, students will be able to... Describe how skin color is produced. Analyze how melanin production has a protective feature for the skin. Enduring Understandings The integumentary system is composed of the skin and its accessory organs. The above objectives correspond with the Alabama Course of Study: Anatomy and Physiology standards: 3a and 3b.