Question

what is the anatomy of the cuticle?

what is the anatomy of the cuticle?(zoology)

Answer 1

Ans. Anatomy of cuticle -

Cuticle is outer layer of an organism that comes in contact with the environment.

• In zoology, the invertebrate cuticle is a multi-layered structure outside the epidermis of many invertebrates, specially in roundworms and arthropods, where cuticle forms an exoskeleton.
• The main structural component of arthropod cuticle is chitin.
• The main structural components of the nematode cuticle are - proteins, collagens and specialised insoluble proteins known as cuticlin, together with glycoproteins and lipids.
• In human cuticle refer to the thickened layer of skin surrounding fingernails and toenails and to refer to the superficial layer of overlapping cells covering the hair shaft (cuticula pili) that locks the hair into its follicle, consisting of dead cells. It can also be used as a synonym for the epidermis,the outer layer of skin.

Surface of cuticle-

The cuticle surface bears shallow, circumferential-oriented furrows.The ridges on either side of the furrows are called annuli.

Cuticle Layers

The cuticle consists of layers that differ in structure and composition. The adult cuticle is approximately 0.5 μm in thickness Cuticle has five major layers :

• the surface coat
• the epicuticle layer
• The cortical zone
• medial zone
• basal zone

With aging, the thickness of the adult cuticle increases due to expansion of the basal zone.

The most abundant structural components of cuticle are collagens and the non-collagenous cuticulins.Collagens localize to the adult cortical layer.

This above diagram is the Anatomy of cuticle of C. elegant.

Cuticle in BOTANY- In higher plants, the cuticle is a water-impervious protective layer covering the epidermal cells of leaves and other parts helping to reduce water loss.It consists of cutin, a waxy, water-repellent substance allied to suberin.

Cutin is also present on many fruits—e.g., apple, nectarine, and cherry. Carnauba wax is derived from the cuticles of the leaves of Copernicia cerifera.