RT Book, Section
A1 Galbraith, Sheila S.
A2 Rudolph, Colin D.
A2 Rudolph, Abraham M.
A2 Lister, George E.
A2 First, Lewis R.
A2 Gershon, Anne A.
SR Print(0)
ID 7032531
T1 Chapter 357. Neonatal Dermatology
T2 Rudolph's Pediatrics, 22e
YR 2011
FD 2011
PB The McGraw-Hill Companies
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-149723-7
LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=7032531
RD 2024/04/18
AB The  skin  of  a  newborn  infant  differs  from  adult  skin  in  several  ways  that  place  infants  at  increased  risk  for  thermal  instability,  skin  damage,  percutaneous  infection,  and  percutaneous  toxicity  from  topically  applied  agents.  The  neonatal  body  surface  area-to-weight  ratio  is  up  to  5  times  greater  than  that  of  an  adult,  and  the  thickness  of  infant  skin  is  40%  to  60%  less.1  Attenuated  rete  ridges,  formed  from  comparatively  fewer  stem  cells  at  the  basal  layer,  provide  a  relatively  limited  area  of  surface  attachment  to  an  immature  dermis,  resulting  in  relative  skin  fragility.  Sebaceous  glands  are  hypertrophic  for  several  weeks  after  birth,  under  the  influence  of  fetal  and  maternal  androgens,  but  eccrine  function  does  not  mature  until  after  term,  placing  newborns  at  risk  for  hyperthermia  with  overbundling.  The  vernix  caseosa  is  composed  of  sloughed  keratinocyte  and  sebaceous  gland  lipids,  with  a  higher  proportion  of  glandular  lipids  in  boys.