Why is the skin such a good first line of defense against pathogenic microorganisms?

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Answer 1

Answer #1

There are two types of first line of defenses against microbes in our body.

1. Physical - These act as surface barriers to microbes. Example - skin

2. Chemical - These inhiting the growth of bacteria.

Examples - sweat, tears, mucous

Skin is a surface barrier. It has following properties which make it an important first line of defense :

A. It is waterproof, thick and dry covering of our body.

B. It has got sweat glands making the surface salty, preventing the growth of bacteria.

C. It has a low pH, creating acidic conditions for the growth of bacteria.

D. It has sebaceous glands which secretes wax, inhibiting the growth of bacteria.

All these conditions of our skin makes it a bad habitat for the growth of bacteria, unless it gets wounded and bacteria enter into blood stream.

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Answer 2

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