• 13 parts
  • Checked October 2026

Epidermis Cell Diagram

One slice of thick skin, cell by cell: the layers and the cells of the epidermis labeled.

Epidermis Cell Diagram

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Stratum corneum
  2. Stratum basale
  3. Dermis
  4. Stratum spinosum
  5. Stratum granulosum
  6. Stratum lucidum
  7. Keratinocyte
  8. Melanocyte
  9. Langerhans cell
  10. Merkel cell
  11. Basement membrane
  12. Desmosome
  13. Dead keratinocytes

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the whole skin, with its hair and glands

All 13 parts on the diagram

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The layers 5

  1. Stratum corneum The outermost layer: many sheets of flat, dead cells.
  2. Stratum basale The deepest layer: one row of cells that divide.
  3. Stratum spinosum The spiny layer: cells held together by desmosomes.
  4. Stratum granulosum Flattened cells packed with keratohyalin granules.
  5. Stratum lucidum A thin, clear layer seen only in thick skin.

Cells and what holds them 8

  1. Dermis The layer of connective tissue under the epidermis.
  2. Keratinocyte The main cell of the epidermis. It makes keratin.
  3. Melanocyte The pigment cell: it makes melanin and passes it on.
  4. Langerhans cell An immune cell with long arms, among the spiny cells.
  5. Merkel cell An oval touch cell in the deepest layer.
  6. Basement membrane The thin sheet between the epidermis and the dermis.
  7. Desmosome A junction that fastens one cell to the next.
  8. Dead keratinocytes Flat dead cells that are shed from the surface.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01 and kept only where two of these use it. (1) Wikipedia, text only: Epidermis, Stratum basale, Stratum spinosum, Stratum granulosum, Stratum lucidum, Stratum corneum, Keratinocyte, Corneocyte, Melanocyte, Langerhans cell, Merkel cell, Desmosome and Dermis, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidermis . (2) A United States government training page on the layers of the skin, https://training.seer.cancer.gov/melanoma/anatomy/layers.html : the sublayers of the epidermis, keratinocytes that make keratin, melanocytes, Langerhans cells, Merkel cells, and the continually shedding dead keratinocytes of the stratum corneum. (3) A university histology page on skin, https://histology.siu.edu/intro/skin.htm : the stratum corneum, granulosum, spinosum and basale, the keratohyalin granules, the desmosomes of the prickle-cell layer and the basement membrane. (4) Gray, Anatomy of the Human Body, 20th edition, 1918 (public domain), The Common Integument, https://www.bartleby.com/107/234.html : the stratum corneum, lucidum and granulosum and the basement membrane. No OpenStax page was read. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A human skin cell diagram at the scale of single cells. It shows the epidermis of thick skin, from the dermis up to the flakes at the surface.

Read the full guide

The layers, bottom to top

New cells form in the stratum basale, one row sitting on the basement membrane. Pushed upward, they join the stratum spinosum, where desmosomes hold them together. In the stratum granulosum they flatten and fill with keratohyalin granules. The stratum lucidum is a thin clear layer seen only in thick skin, on the palms and soles. The stratum corneum is sheet upon sheet of flat dead cells.

A Langerhans cells diagram, and two more cells

Most cells here are keratinocytes. Three others live among them. The melanocyte, in the bottom row, makes pigment. The Langerhans cell, among the spiny cells, belongs to the immune system. The Merkel cell, in the bottom row beside a nerve ending, senses light touch.

  • The layers are the brackets on the left; tap a bracket, not a cell, for a layer.
  • The quiz accepts stratum germinativum for the stratum basale.

Questions and answers

What are the layers of the epidermis in order?

From the deepest to the surface: stratum basale, stratum spinosum, stratum granulosum, stratum lucidum and stratum corneum. The stratum lucidum is seen only in thick skin, so thin skin shows four.

What are the four cells of the epidermis?

Keratinocytes, melanocytes, Langerhans cells and Merkel cells. Keratinocytes make up about nine cells in ten.

How do I label the structures of integument in the epidermis?

Start at the bottom. The single row of tall cells is the stratum basale, and each layer above it has its own look: spiny, grainy, clear, then flat and dead. This drawing is our own, not a copy of a course figure.

What holds the cells of the epidermis together?

Desmosomes, small junctions that fasten one keratinocyte to the next. They are the spines of the stratum spinosum. The round inset enlarges one.

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