Outer root sheath keratinization in anagen and catagen of the mammalian hair follicle. A seventh distinct type of keratinization in the hair follicle: trichilemmal keratinization.

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  • 1 August 1981
    • journal article
    • Vol. 133, 19-35
Abstract
Trichilemmal keratinization, first described in Maurer in 1895 and rediscovered by Holmes (1968) and Pinkus (1968) converts the stratified epithelium of the outer root sheath into anuclear keratin without an intervening keratohyalin layer. It is a distinct seventh type of keratinization in the hair follicle, not derived from the hair matrix. It occurs wherever outer root sheath is not apposed to inner root sheath, in anagen in the zone of sloughing just below the opening of the sebaceous duct, in catagen in the trichilemmal sac surrounding the lower end of the dying hair shaft where it forms the club of the telogen hair. Electron microscopic study of the thick hairs of dogs (but not the tiny hairs of rodents) reveals intricate infoldings of non-keratinized and keratinized cells. It also shows unique ladder-like membrane coating granules in anagen, which are strongly acid phosphatase-positive and are suggested to be the source of enzyme involved with disintegration of the inner root sheath.