ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION The skin, commonly viewed as our body’s largest organ, is strategically positioned at the interface between the external and internal environments. Therefore, it appears to have evolved not only to sense a hugely diverse range of stressors and insults but also to integrate and respond to these stimuli. Common skin stressors include ultraviolet radiation (UVR), mechanical, chemical, and (micro)biological insults. In doing so, the skin is likely to be much more critical in maintaining our total body homeostasis than previously thought. Indeed, the new field of cutaneous neuro-immuno-endocrinology focuses on the multifactorial nature of skin composed of several closely networked systems linking peripheral and central stress axes. Modulation of this peripheral sensor, therefore, is likely to have significant consequences for human health and disease. This chapter will scope out, in brief, how our skin can participate as a fundamentally important antenna to protect, educate, and beguile our other body systems, and how these are linked into the natural world around us.
