Ponder #2

Source : Imponderables by David Feldman


Why does the skin on the extremities wrinkle after a bath? And why only the extremities?


Despite its appearance, your skin isn't shrivelling after your bath. Actually, it is expanding. The skin on the fingers, palms, toes and soles wrinkles only after it is saturated with water (a prolonged stay underwater in the swimming pool will create the same effect). The stratum corneum - the thick, dead layer of the skin that protects us from the environment and that makes the skin on our hands and feet tougher and thicker than on our stomachs or faces - expands when it soaks up water. This expansion causes the wrinkling effect.


So why doesn't the skin on other parts of the body also wrinkle when saturated? Actually, it does, but there is more room for the moisture to be absorbed in these less densely packed areas before it will show. One doctor we contacted said that the soldiers whose feet are submerged in soggy boots for a long period will exhibit wrinkling all over the covered area.


Kenapa kulit di bahagian hujung anggota badan berkedut selepas mandi? Dan kenapa bahagian hujung sahaja?


Sebenarnya kulit kita mengembang. Kulit di bahagian jari, tapak tangan, kaki, tapak kaki hanya akan berkedut selepas terdedah kepada air dalam jangka masa yang lama. Bahagian ini adalah lapisan tebal kulit mati yang melindungi kita dari persekitaran dan menjadikan bahagian ini sedikit kasar berbanding kulit di bahagian perut dan muka. Pengembangan ini yang menampakkan ianya kelihatan seperti berkedut.


Jadi, persoalannya, kenapa kulit di bahagian lain tidak berkedut apabila terendam dalam air? Sebenarnya, kulit di bahagian lain turut mengembang, tetapi di bahagian lain terdapat lebih banyak ruang untuk penyerapan berlaku memandangkan bahagian lain kurang padat, dan apabila terendam dalam masa yang lama, kedutan akan juga kelihatan. 


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