• Question: Why is skin designated an organ?

    Asked by sciencetube145 to Gioia, Iain, Jo, Leo, Mariam on 22 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Joanna Watson

      Joanna Watson answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      An organ is made from a group of different tissues, which all work together to do a particular job.

      The skin is a group of tissues which have the job of protecting your body from the outside world.

    • Photo: Leo Garcia

      Leo Garcia answered on 19 Jun 2010:

      The definition of an organ is a:

      “collection of tissues joined in structural unit to serve a common function”

      And, consideration the skin serves the purpose of protecting the internal parts of the body from damage – it is an organ! The name for the whole of the organ system of which the skin is a part is the ‘integumentary system’:

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integumentary_system

    • Photo: Iain Moal

      Iain Moal answered on 19 Jun 2010:

      Well, I’m not sure. If I remember rightly, an organ is just a load of tissue that performs a function. I suppose the skin forms several functions. It protects our insides, and it cools us down, so I don’t see why it shouldn’t be designated an organ.

    • Photo: Mariam Orme

      Mariam Orme answered on 22 Jun 2010:

      The definition of an organ (from Wikipedia!) is:
      a collection of tissues joined in structural unit to serve a common function.
      So skin counts as an organ – it’s a collection of tissues (there are several layers to your skin), that are joined together and they serve the common functions of protecting the inside of the body from bacteria and viruses, giving you a sense of touch, and helping regulate your body temperature.
      You can find out more about skin on this website:
      http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/skin.html

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