Upload
others
View
8
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
AnatomyoftheBodyforPiercers ElayneAngel
APP2016 1
§ Author of The Piercing Bible § Professional piercer since 1980s § Annual instructor (but not a
medical professional) § Performed well over 40,000
piercings § Former APP Outreach Coordinator,
2-time Medical Liaison, and President
§ To understand the body’s
anatomy in relation to piercing
§ To foster performance of safe,
sane piercings through
knowledge of anatomy
§ To encourage further study
§ Tissue types
§ Overview of skin
§ Relevant anatomy by piercing
§ Risks and possible complications
based on localized anatomy
§ Dermis/epidermis (skin)
§ Mucous membrane
§ Skeletal muscle (in
certain areas)
§ Weighs 6-9 pounds (3-4 kilos)
§ Approximately 16% of body weight
§ Approximately 20 square feet (2
sq. meters)
§ Thickness 1/64”- 5/32” (0.5 - 4mm)
§ Largest organ* in the body
AnatomyoftheBodyforPiercers ElayneAngel
APP2016 2
Skin is an Organ?
*Skin is considered to be an organ because it
meets the definition:
“A group of related cells that combine
together to perform one or more specific
functions within the body”
§ Barrier to outside environment
§ Protects body from hazardous
substances, injury, infection
§ Maintains water balance
§ Regulates temperature
§ Delivers sensation
§ Produces vitamin d
§ Epidermis: keratinized epithelium
(the epithelial outer layer)
§ Dermis: dense, fibrous, connective inner layer
§ Subcutaneous: superficial fascia/hypodermis
§ The outermost layer is comprised of
dead cells
§ Keratinized epithelium: the
protective, hardened layer on
surface, which covers the basal
(base) layer
§ When a piercing is fully healed, its
surface has epithelialized
§ The thinnest layer of the skin
§ Cells divide only in the base layer § Avascular—no blood vessels/lymphatics § Nourished via diffusion from the underlying blood
and fluid supply in the dermis
AnatomyoftheBodyforPiercers ElayneAngel
APP2016 3
§ Cells in the deepest layer of epidermis
divide constantly to make new cells
§ The new cells die as they are pushed
outward towards the surface
§ The surface skin cells flake off
continuously and are replaced with
new ones
§ The body produces a totally new
epidermis about every 30 days
§ Skin’s color is created by special cells called melanocytes, which produce the pigment melanin
§ Melanocytes are located in the deepest layer of the epidermis
§ A piercing located in the
epidermis is so superficial
(shallow) it will reject
§ Piercings must pass
through the dermis (next
skin layer down) to heal
and remain
A layer of interlacing fibers that provide strength, tone, and elastic properties:
§ Blood Vessels
§ Nerves
§ Sebaceous glands
§ Sweat glands
§ Hair follicles
§ Hair erector muscles
Includes:
§ Venules—small veins
§ Arterioles—small arteries
§ Afferent nerves—sensory
§ Efferent nerves—motor
§ Collagen and elastin
§ Sebaceous glands (“oil glands”) are in the dermis
§ They secrete skin oil called “sebum”
§ Sebum moisturizes and conditions hair and skin to prevent damage
AnatomyoftheBodyforPiercers ElayneAngel
APP2016 4
§ Expressed from the sebaceous glands
§ Sebum often collects in
healed piercing channels
§ Not pus—does not
indicate infection
Sebum on the surface of the skin
§ Sits atop the muscle
§ Contains loose connective
tissue, lobules of fat, skin
ligaments, sweat glands
§ Beneath the dermis; not
part of “skin” proper
(Also called subcutaneous tissue or subcutis)
§ Thickness depends on location in the body
§ Flexible connection between the skin and the underlying muscles
§ Allows the skin to stretch and move independently
§ Binds it to deeper layers
§ Blood vessels and nerves here are larger than in the dermis
§ Deeper piercings have greater risk for bleeding or nerve damage
§ Larger gauges also have increased risks
§ When you pinch up the skin it separates
layers below the epidermis
§ Separation occurs in thin fibrous layers
and fatty tissue
§ Note difference in thickness from
abdomen vs. back of hand
§ Thickness in hypodermis layer mostly
relates to the amount of fatty tissue
§ Wherever possible, to prepare the piercing site pinch, lift, and roll the tissue
(in the direction of the piercing)
§ Can loosen the upper layers from underlying tissue, and possibly free
vessels to keep them out of the way
§ Note that thick fascial tissue will not get loose
AnatomyoftheBodyforPiercers ElayneAngel
APP2016 5
§ Overall, wide piercings take longer to heal
§ They are more subject to complications
§ Too wide inhibits drainage
§ Keep width under 2”
§ Even better, under 1”
§ “The Circulatory System”
§ The vessels and tissues that circulate blood and fluids
throughout the body • Arteries
• Veins
• Capillaries
• Lymph vessels
Arteries carry clean, nutrient- and oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the body
Veins carry deoxygenated blood back to the heart from the body
§ Arterioles: small blood
vessels that branch out
from arteries
§ Venules: small blood
vessels that branch out
from veins
§ Capillaries: connect the
arterioles and the venules
From heart To heart
§ Capillaries are the smallest of the blood vessels
§ Distribute oxygenated blood from arteries to the tissues of the body
§ Feed deoxygenated blood from tissues back into the veins
AnatomyoftheBodyforPiercers ElayneAngel
APP2016 6
Capillary flow nourishes the overlying epidermis by diffusion
§ Good circulation crucial to
wound healing
§ Brings needed oxygen and
nutrients and takes away
waste products
§ Without good circulation,
wounds heal very slowly or
not at all § PA healing time: 4-6 weeks
§ Navel healing time: 6-9 months
§ Lymph vessels carry lymphatic fluid
§ Clear, colorless liquid containing water,
cellular waste, white blood cells
§ Helps rid the body of toxins and waste
(part of the immune system)
§ 600-700 lymph nodes filter lymph
before it returns to the circulatory
system
Lymph capillaries collect cellular waste fluids, which flow to lymph
vessels, then to lymph nodes, then to the body’s eliminative
organs (kidneys, colon, lungs, and skin) to eliminate the waste
§ Lymph has no pump, so it
moves by
• Muscle contraction
• Deep abdominal breathing
• Manual lymphatic massage
§ Inactivity prevents removal of
metabolic waste by-products
from the lymph glands for
excretion
§ When lymph nodes recognize invaders in the lymph fluid, they make more infection-fighting white blood cells, which can cause swelling
§ Swollen glands near a
new piercing are normal and to be expected
AnatomyoftheBodyforPiercers ElayneAngel
APP2016 7
§ The dried, crusted matter
found on healing piercings is
not plasma (as it is commonly,
but incorrectly, called)
§ It is a serous exudate of lymph,
dead cells, and interstitial fluid
(liquid from between the cells)
§ Sensation is provided by afferent (sensory) branches
originating off of nerve roots
exiting the spinal column
§ This creates a map of
cutaneous (skin) nerve
distribution called dermatomes
“Piercers routinely
puncture the smallest and
most peripheral of the
vessels and nerves with no
ill effect whatsoever. This
is a normal part of body
piercing.” Elayne Angel
§ Comprised of striated muscle cells arranged in parallel bundles
§ Innervation through the somatic nervous system, largely under voluntary control
As this image of the
facial musculature
shows, we frequently
pierce through certain
muscles around the
mouth
AnatomyoftheBodyforPiercers ElayneAngel
APP2016 8
§ With facial and lip piercings,
less likely to interfere with
muscle function
§ In other areas, piercings may be aggravated by
muscle movements
§ Jewelry may also bind
muscles together
§ Mucous membranes are moist linings of the body tracts (systems) that have openings to the environment
• Respiratory • Digestive • Urinary • Reproductive
§ Epithelial tissue § Not every mucous membrane
secretes mucus
Mucosa we pierce: § Nostril (inner surface) § Intra-oral: Lips/tongue § Hood/clitoris § Labia minora § Glans/foreskin
§ Mucosa can be delicate
§ Tends to heal quickly
§ The mucus secreted by
these membranes keeps the
lining epithelial cells wet
§ What gauge might this be (to scale)?
§ Is this shallower than most piercings go?
§ Which strata do most surface piercings pass through?
§ A piercing will reject if placed
in or migrated to the epidermis
§ The outer piercing is rejecting
§ There is no way to stop it
§ Remove jewelry to minimize
scarring!