The Mammalian Skin Barrier: Structure, Function, and Formation Considerations

Abstract

Since most, if not all, natural processes are irreversible, structural order in biological systems intimately depends on how this order is created [[1], pp. 1772]. Thus considerations of formation and of structure-function can hardly be separated. This is the framework within which the “membrane-folding” [2] and “single gel phase” model [3, 4] for skin barrier structure, function, and formation were conceived. Also, the tremendous increase in our knowledge of the complexity of the skin barrier over the last 25 years has, in my opinion, further served to underline the need for conceptual tools to make this information more accessible to critical interpretations. Some arguments to justify this statement are enumerated at the outset.