Monty Lyman

Thanks to NetGalley for this review copy!

Our skin is our largest organ – a fact that is often overlooked. Author Monty Lyman strives to put our skin front and center in this book. Each chapter covers a different aspect of what a marvelous organ our external covering is, from scientific to religious. The author discusses tattoos, skin conditions such as psoriasis, and discrimination based on skin color.

I found the medical portions to be the most interesting; I learned more about lice than I ever planned to. Despite the jargon, this section of the book is easily comprehended, aided by drawings that illustrate the author’s point.

We also learn about how sunburn affects us, why itches are so maddening, and exactly how many microscopic parasites live on us, no matter how clean we are. Each chapter builds upon the previous ones, creating a thorough picture of our skin and why it is so amazingly unique.

Lyman uses anecdotes and history to supplement his writing. He also is unafraid to discuss uncomfortable topics such as racism and lepers, which I found refreshing. I learned a lot about the misinformation surrounding lepers, plus I enjoyed the philosophical leaning during the chapter on racism based on skin color. He even takes a detour into religion, noting that some beliefs require covering most of the skin, while others worship “skyclad” (naked). Despite our differences, our outer covering makes us the same, and you will understand that better once you finish THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF THE SKIN.

I have a new respect for my skin now that I have finished this book – I bet you will too!… (más)

If you were asked to name your own bodies largest organ you would almost certainly think of one of the ones inside like the liver or the heart, but it is actually the part of you that holds it all together, your skin. It is also an organ that most people think nothing of, day in and day out, but if you know what you are looking for you can see right into a person’s soul through their skin. Most doctors have an interest in all the bits inside, but Lyman is different, his fascination is the outside of us.

Unlike most other mammals we don’t have a significant amount of hair to protect us and keep us warm, rather what we have is a flexible and dynamic substance that can regulate temperature, is waterproof, resilient and is our frontline defence for all manner of nasty things. Flakes of skin are being shed continually, and it constantly regrows. It can be resistant to the sun, but too much exposure can lead to burning and even skin cancers. One of the amazing facts in here is just how sensitive the skin is. Every single square inch can relay back to the brain the fact that it has been touched.

There are some parts in here that are not for the squeamish, he begins with the story of a child who had a disease called harlequin ichthyosis, a horrid condition where the skin is dry cracked and scaly. He goes on to write about how we age and the inevitable wrinkles if moisturisers are any good and methods of keeping your skin in good condition. His skin safari provides details of all the countless bugs and microbes that we all carry, there are some really weird things that live in your belly button, as well of details of some really nasty things that occasionally appear.
I thought that this was a really good science book, he knows his subject thoroughly and has the skills to make the story of our skin very readable without becoming like a scientific paper. Well worth reading.… (más)

Everyone now recognizes the skin is the largest organ of the human body, meriting far more respect than it has been given - ever. Many don't know how it is structured or how it works. Just like the universe being extraordinarily complex in its bigness, the skin is extraordinarily complex at the microscopic level. There is an astonishing amount of activity that goes into making everything quiet and unassuming, so that people don't have to even think about their skin. Monty Lyman has pulled a huge amount of data into a book appropriately called The Remarkable Life of the Skin.

Human skin is not some waterproof plastic wrap for organs. Its sealing properties are made by 14-sided structures (tetradecahedrons) than fit together tightly enough to keep out bacteria and liquids, yet allow for sweating and hair growth from the inside out. The tetradecahedrons are made of keratin, the same stuff of finger nails and rhinoceros horns.

The top layer (epidermis) is less than a millimeter thick. It is supported by two other layers that refresh and maintain it, since it alone faces the cruel outside world. It turns over every 30-40 days, constantly flaking away month-old skin. One of those other layers is lipid-rich, helping give us flexibility, stretchability and recovery from contact. It is also responsible for cellulite. That layer in women consists of fatty columns, which push their way outward as women age and skin thins. In men, the same layer crisscrosses instead, so while most women develop some degree of cellulite, few men do.

From our twenties, we begin to lose one percent of our skin collagen every year. After 40, this accelerates. Different skin colors age slower or faster, better or worse. White Caucasian skin ages worst of all.

There is a fascinating section on touch, and how it works. Humans can feel things as small as a micrometre (.001mm) in a microsecond from the time of contact. But that's a stat just for show. There are actually four mechanoreceptors, each contributing their specialty in touch. Merkel cells are responsible for detecting contact and relaying the fact instantly. Mesissner corpuscles detect slippage in movement of micrometres, and automatically grip the object we're holding differently, so it does not slip away. Pacini corpuscles detect pressure and vibration, making tools extensions of our fingers, applying just the right response for whatever we're doing. Not overgripping or moving too fast or too far, for example. Ruffini endings detect horizontal stretching, guiding finger movements of whatever we're holding and using. Lyman uses the example of keys, which you blindly fish for in your pocket, grab, withdraw, feel edges and the head for the needed one, insert it into a lock with the proper edge up, and twist, using all four of these mechanoreceptors without missing a beat (most of the time).

Ridges on soaked fingers (and only on fingertips and toes) allow for better gripping in water, and the lack of hairs on fingers and palms combine with thicker skin and extraordinary touch sensitivity to make hands (as well as lips and genitals) superlative touch machines. And all this says nothing about the parallel system of emotional touch, the sensations of feeling a surface or another person, and far moreso with a loved one. Their signals travel a completely different network. Finally, nociceptors detect harm and respond with pain in yet another network pathway for touch.

Lyman has experienced the extremes of skin conditions all over the world, from leprosy to imaginary insects breeding under the skin (The physical manifestations of stress, in their sheer variety and intensity, are hard to overestimate), though that can be a real condition, too. He discusses a depressingly large number of diseases and conditions, as the battlelines against health and homeostasis are everywhere. That's what skin is there for. Its defenses and repair crews are remarkable, and Lyman details their playbook in easy to understand terms.

Probably the longest section involves sun damage, the three kinds of skin cancer, each one worse than the previous, and the effects or non effects of sunscreens, supplements, various foods, and good old abstinence. So while we need sunshine on skin to produce vitamin D, sunshine is always harmful. At very least, it ages skin prematurely. At worst, it can set off processes like cancer that can be fatal. And once again, White Caucasian skin fares worst of all.

Another kind of skin abuse is tattooing. Lyman shows it goes back to man's beginnings, has been a feature or requirement of many religions, and if it didn't kill you, was a badge of honor and beauty. He describes the modern process as trapping the disease fighters of the body as they come to fight off the invasion. He calls tattoos infinite infection, as no movement can take place in the standstill between the ink and the repair crew. The ink remains despite the skin's best efforts, stymied and frozen in place.

The only useless part of the book is Lyman's examination of how skin references pop up in clichés and cultural references. At least he didn't go into jokes, song lyrics and politics. The Ancient Greek derivations of words about skin have no importance in learning how it works and why. But for the most part, The Remarkable Life of the Skin is a very useful, informative and edifying read that puts myths in their place and gets real data into our ever-hardworking hands.

David Wineberg… (más)