What is the Difference Between Frog and Human Integumentary System

The main difference between frog and human integumentary system is that the frog integumentary system serves as a respiratory organ whereas the human integumentary system does not. Furthermore, the skin of frogs secretes mucus and poisons while the skin of humans secretes sweat and sebum.

Frog and human integumentary system are their body cover that protects the underneath structures while aiding in homeostasis. Skin is an alternative name for the integumentary system.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is the Frog Integumentary System
     – Definition, Structure, Function
2. What is the Human Integumentary System
     – Definition, Structure, Function
3. What are the Similarities Between Frog and Human Integumentary System
     – Outline of Common Features
4. What is the Difference Between Frog and Human Integumentary System
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Frog Integumentary System, Homeostasis, Human Integumentary System, Protection, Respiration, Thermoregulation

What is the Frog Integumentary System

Frog integumentary system is the body covering or the skin of the frog. The frog skin is very thin and colorful. Also, it is permeable to water. The mucus produced by the frog skin moistens the skin while aiding the gas exchange. Some frogs produce poisons by their skin. Moreover, the two layers of the frog skin are the epidermis and dermis. The epidermis consists of stratified squamous epithelium, and the dermis consists of connective tissue.

Figure 1: Frog Skin

The skin color of the frog is an adaptation to camouflage. Here, the cells in the skin that produce the color pigments are the chromatophores. There are four types of chromatophores: guanophores that produce white color pigments, lipophores that produce red color pigments, melanophores that produce black to brown color pigments, and xanthophores that produce yellow color pigments.

What is the Human Integumentary System

The human integumentary system is the human skin, composed of three layers: epidermis, dermis, and the subcutaneous layer. The main functions of the human skin include the protection from both dehydration and mechanical abrasion, thermoregulation, and sensory reception. Most importantly, the skin is the largest organ of the human body. Human skin can be either hairy or hairless, oily or dry. Melanin is the pigment which gives the color to the human skin. Its color can vary from dark brown to yellow.

Figure 2: Human Skin

The dermal layer of the human skin contains endocrine glands, which produce sweat, and sebaceous glands, which produce the sebum, making the skin oily. The nerve ends responsible for the sensation of touch, heat and cold, pain, pressure, and vibration innervate the human skin. Also, human skin serves as an excretory organ since the sweat contains urea. These skins excrete both salts and water.

Similarities Between Frog and Human Integumentary System

• Frog and human integumentary system are the body coverings of the frog and human respectively.
• Also, both integumentary systems are responsible for protecting the underneath tissues from water loss and abrasion from outside, homeostasis, excretion, etc.
• Furthermore, temperature regulation involves the integumentary system of both animals.
• Moreover, both serve as excretory organs.
• Also, both contain sensory organs and appendages.
• Besides, the stratified squamous epithelium makes up the epidermis of both skins.
• Aboveall, both skins produce pigments, which give a color to the skin.

Difference Between Frog and Human Integumentary System

Definition

Frog integumentary system refers to the skin of the frog, responsible for both respiration and thermoregulation while the human integumentary system refers to the skin of humans, responsible for protection and thermoregulation. Thus, these definitions explain the main difference between frog and human integumentary system.

Similar to

The frog integumentary system is similar to that of a worm while the human integumentary system is similar to that of other mammals especially, the pig.

Texture

Another difference between frog and human integumentary system is that the skin of the frog is thin, slippery, and moist while the human skin varies from dry to oily.

Layers

The frog integumentary system consists of two layers: epidermis and dermis while the human integumentary system consists of three layers: epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous layer. 

Secretions

Secretions is also a major difference between frog and human integumentary system. The frog skin secretes mucus and poisons while the human skin secretes sweat and sebum.

Pigments

The chromatophores in the frog skin are guanophores, lipophores, melanophores, and xanthophores while melanocytes produce the pigments in the human skin.

Appendages

The frog skin contains scales while the human skin contains fingernails and hair. Hence, this is another difference between frog and human integumentary system.

Function

A major difference between frog and human integumentary system is their function. The main functions of the frog integumentary system are protection, respiration, movement of nutrients, and camouflage while the human skin is responsible for protection, thermoregulation, and excretion. 

Conclusion

Frog integumentary system is responsible for the respiration and thermoregulation. It produces four different colors involved in camouflage. On the other hand, the human integumentary system is responsible for thermoregulation, but not for respiration. Also, frog skin is scaly while human skin contains hair and nails. Therefore, the main difference between frog and human integumentary system is their structure and specialized functions.

Reference:

1. Duellman, W, E, and Linda Trueb. “Integumentary, Sensory, and Visceral Systems.” Biology of Amphibians, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994, pp. 367–378. Available Here
2. “Anatomy of Skin (Epidermis) Information.” MyVMC, 12 June 2018, Available Here

Image Courtesy:

1. “R. imitator Chazuta” By Gabsch – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia  
2. “Skin layers” By Madhero88 and M.Komorniczak – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Skin_layers.png (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia