We talked in class about the functions of the skin.
I have often read that it is good that you occasionally sit in the sun because this is necessary for the production of vit D by the skin.
Is the production of vit D by the skin a secretory function or an excretory function of the skin?
Asker: Josephine, age 13
Answer
7-dehydrocholesterol is converted in the skin under the influence of UV light into cholecalciferol (= vit D3). However, this vitamin D3 is not yet active and must be further converted to its active form in the liver and kidneys. The skin is therefore a passive organ and is not really a secretor or excretor of vitamin D.
Answered by
Prof. dr. Dr Koenraad Smets
newborns.
university of Ghent
http://www.ugent.be
.