Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the structural and lipid biochemical correlates of
the epidermal permeability barrier. A pivotal point in terrestrial adaptation is prevention of
desiccation and maintenance of internal water homeostasis. The outermost integumentary
tissue, the epidermis, maintains a reserve of germinal cell layers whose proliferation,
stratification, and differentiation result in the production of the outermost layer, the anucleate
stratum corneum. The stratum corneum has heterogeneous tissue structure possessing a …