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dermis
1[ dur-mis ]
noun
- Anatomy, Zoology. the dense inner layer of skin beneath the epidermis, composed of connective tissue, blood and lymph vessels, sweat glands, hair follicles, and an elaborate sensory nerve network.
-dermis
2- a combining form meaning “skin,” “layer of tissue,” used in the formation of compound words:
exodermis; gastrodermis.
dermis
/ ˈdɜːmɪs /
dermis
/ dûr′mĭs /
- The innermost layer of the skin in vertebrate animals. The dermis lies under the epidermis and contains nerve endings and blood and lymph vessels. In mammals, the dermis also contains hair follicles and sweat glands.
Derived Forms
- ˈdermic, adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of dermis1
Example Sentences
Feathers, like hairs, arise from epidermal papillae which become imbedded in pits in the dermis.
Hairs are delicate epidermal structures which grow imbedded in little pits or follicles in the dermis.
The skin consists of an outer layer of epiblastic origin, the epidermis, and an inner layer of mesoblastic origin, the dermis.
In the young Jacare mentioned above, I found the dermis to be 27 distinguishable into two layers.
This vesicle is formed by the epidermis detached from the dermis, and elevated as a half sphere by serous liquid within.
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Words That Use -dermis
What does -dermis mean?
The combining form -dermis is used like a suffix meaning “skin” or “layer of tissue.” It is used in a number of scientific terms, especially in botany and zoology.
This form is directly based on epidermis, the thin outer layer of the skin, from the Greek epidermís, “surface skin” (more on this word in the next section below).
The word dermis was extracted from epidermis and refers to the dense inner layer of skin. All of these words ultimately come from the Greek dérma, meaning “skin.”
The Greek dérma also helps form the word taxidermy. Discover more about its roots in our entry for the word.
Closely related to -dermis are the combining forms -derm, -derma, -dermatous, dermat-, dermato-, derm-, and dermo-. Learn their specific applications in our Words That Use articles for these forms.
Examples of -dermis
As noted above, the epidermis is the outer layer of the skin—most of the skin is actually beneath what we generally refer to as our skin.
The first portion of the word, epi-, means “upon” or “over,” among other senses. The second part of the word, -dermis, refers to “skin.” So, epidermis has a literal sense of “upper skin.”
What are some words that use the combining form –dermis?
What are some other forms that –dermis may be commonly confused with?
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