Embriologic, Histologic,

Anatomic Aspects:
Hair Follicle
Oleh Indina Sastrini
 Morphologically 4 major categories: straight, spiral, helical,
and wavy.

Helical Straight

Wavy

Spiral
 Color of hair depends o the amount and distribution of
melanosomes , the number of melanocytes is the same
before aging becomes apparent.
Dark brown or black hair contains large, ellipsoidal,
markedly melanized eumelanosomes. Red hair contains
spherical pheomelanosomes. Blond hair, melanocytes in
bulbs produce relatively few or incompletely melanized
melanosomes. Gray and white hair, melanocytes in
bulbs are reduced in number and melanosomes are poorly
melanized.
 Sex hormones do not affect eyebrows and
eyelashes, but at the puberty they influence the
characteristic of pubic, axillary, facial and body
hair.
 Fetus lanugo

Child and adult velus

Terminal hair only type posses a

medula
On the eyebrows, eyelashes, scalp,
beard, axillae and beard
 During its lifetime, a particular follicle may
generate all 3 types of hair: a folicle on the scalp
may produce a lanugo hair initially, a terminal
hair later and in baldness, a vellus hair.
With the onset of puberty and surge of
androgens, vellus folicle in beard, pubic and
axillary regions become terminal folicles that
generate terminal hairs
No new hair follicles are formed in normal skin
after birth
Longitudinal sections - histologically:
- Upper segment (a stationary):
infundibulum and isthmus
- Lower segment (transient): stem
and bulb
 Matrical cells derive from aboriginal cells of the follicular
germ, germinative cells in an embryo giving rise to an
entire follicle (and to sebaceous and apocrine units).
A complete cycle of matrical cells of follicles on a scalp
is bout 39 hours.
The boundaries of a pear-shaped follicular bulb are the
base of a follicle and the high-arched curve of
keratogenous zone that ends at a discrete border known
as Adamsons fringe.
Adamsons fringe forms the boundary between nucleated
cells of a hair in the bulb of a follicle and anucleate cells
of a hair in the stem of a follicle.
 The follicle at the bulb consists of pale and clear
cells of the outer sheath, trichohyalin and cells of
the future hair.
The bulk of a follicular bulb consists of matrical
epithelial cells among which melanocytes are
interspersed.
The stem, the longest section of a terminal
follicle in anagen consist of an outer sheath, an
inner sheath and a hair.
The bulb and
part of the
stem of a hair
follicle
 The isthmus is delimited by desquamation of corneocytes
of the inner sheath and the entrance of the sebaceous duct.
Isthmic epithelium is characterized by:
o a basal layer,
o a spinous zone,
o absence of granular zone,
o a thin, brightly eosinophilic cornified layer
Corneocytes of the epidermis and infundibulum are
arranged in a basket-woven pattern, a granular zone with
numerous keratohyaline granules.
 Cornified cells of infundibula, especially those on the
scalp, face, and upper part of the trunk, are host
normally to a variety microorganisms, among them
bacteria: Staphylococcus eidermidis and
Propionibacterium acnes, yeast (Pityrospirum), and a
mite (Demodex folliculorum).
When perifolliculitis is long lasting, follicles may be
destroyed by the effect of products of lympocytes. One
inflammatory type of alopecia is charaterized by
infiltrates of lympocytes that encircle the bulb.
Matrical cells of follicular bulbs
From outside:
1. Henles layer of the
inner sheath, one cell
with prominent, brightly
eosinophlic
trichochyalin
2. Huxleys layer of the
inner sheath, two cells
thick, numerous
trychohyalin granules
3. Cuticle of the inner
sheath, one cell thick
4. Cuticle of the hair
made up of a single
layer
5. Cortex of hair
6. Medulla of the hair,
only in terminal hairs
Phases in the cycle of a follicle
 3 phases in that cycle:
1. Growing (anagen)
2. Involuting (catagen)
3. Resting (telogen)
Hairs in human are normally lost randomly and
inconspicuosly, because adjacent follicles are in different
phases of the follicular cycle and most of them are in
anagen.
The paty of follicle that is stationary, isthmus and
infundibulum are not involved at all in the cycle of
follicle.
Germinative cells responsible for initiating anagen.
 Hairs in different regions of the body spend different
amounts of time in anagen, and the result of those
differences in characteristic variations in length of hairs.
example : scalp hair, grow about 3 to 10 years, involute 3
4 week period and rest 3 to 4 months.
70 to 100 telogen hairs are shed normally daily
 Fully
developed
anagen
Consists of
matrical cells,
which mature
into hair and
inner and an
outer sheath

Early
catagen
Follicular bulb is
no longer extant,
thickened
membrane
basement
Telogen
A follicle at
rest, consists
only of an
upper
segment
(infundibulum
and isthmus)