EPIDERMIS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does epidermis mean? 

• EPIDERMIS (noun)
  The noun EPIDERMIS has 1 sense:

1. the outer layer of the skin covering the exterior body surface of vertebrates

  Familiarity information: EPIDERMIS used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• EPIDERMIS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The outer layer of the skin covering the exterior body surface of vertebrates

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

cuticle; epidermis

Hypernyms ("epidermis" is a kind of...):

stratum (one of several parallel layers of material arranged one on top of another (such as a layer of tissue or cells in an organism or a layer of sedimentary rock))

Meronyms (parts of "epidermis"):

epidermal cell (any of the cells making up the epidermis)

corneum; horny layer; stratum corneum (the outermost layer of the epidermis consisting of dead cells that slough off)

stratum lucidum (the layer of epidermis immediately under the stratum corneum in the skin of the palms and soles)

stratum granulosum (the layer of epidermis just under the stratum corneum or (on the palms and soles) just under the stratum lucidum; contains cells (with visible granules) that die and move to the surface)

malpighian layer; rete Malpighii; stratum basale; stratum germinativum (the innermost layer of the epidermis)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "epidermis"):

mantle; pallium ((zoology) a protective layer of epidermis in mollusks or brachiopods that secretes a substance forming the shell)

Holonyms ("epidermis" is a part of...):

cutis; skin; tegument (a natural protective body covering and site of the sense of touch)

Derivation:

epidermal; epidermic (of or relating to a cuticle or cuticula)

 Context examples 

Contact hypersensitivity is an inflammatory response induced by antigen-reactive T cells that are exposed to antigen on the skin surface (epidermis).

(Contact Hypersensitivity, NCI Thesaurus)

A projection of the dermis into the epidermis.

(Dermal Papilla, NCI Thesaurus)

A mature teratoma characterized by the presence of a cyst which is lined by mature tissue resembling the epidermis and the epidermal appendages.

(Dermoid cyst, NCI Thesaurus)

A nevus composed of neoplastic melanocytes that infiltrate both the epidermis and the dermis.

(Compound nevus, NCI Thesaurus)

Skin cancer that has spread from the epidermis (outer layer of skin) down into the papillary dermis (the thin top layer of the dermis).

(Clark level II skin cancer, NCI Dictionary)

Melanoma that is found only in the epidermis (outer layer of skin).

(Clark Level I, NCI Dictionary)

Skin cancer that is found only in the epidermis (outer layer of skin).

(Clark level I skin cancer, NCI Dictionary)

Abnormal melanocytes (cells that make melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color) are found in the epidermis (outer layer of the skin).

(Melanoma in situ, NCI Dictionary)

A special type of cell found right below the epidermis (top layer of skin).

(Merkel cell, NCI Dictionary)

Abnormal cells are found in the epidermis (topmost layer of the skin).

(Nonmelanoma skin carcinoma in situ on the eyelid, NCI Dictionary)