Vernix caseosa

Vernix caseosa

Vernix, also known as Vernix caseosa, is the waxy or "cheesy" white substance found coating the skin of newborn humans. It is secreted by the fetus's sebaceous glands "in utero," and is hypothesized to have antibacterial properties. "Vernix" is the Latin word for "varnish." The vernix, "varnishes" the baby. "Caseosa" is "cheesy" in Latin

Vernix is composed of sebum (the oil of the skin) and cells that have sloughed off the fetus' skin. A substantial percentage of the dry weight of vernix (12%) is composed of branched chain fatty acid containing lipids. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18614964?dopt=Abstract]

The vernix is secreted by the sebaceous glands around the 20th week of gestation, but the amount of vernix decreases toward the end of gestation. It has been hypothesised that it protects the baby's skin from dehydration in the womb. Without the vernix, the baby would have very wrinkled skin from constant exposure to the watery amniotic fluidFact|date=August 2008 .

Vernix is sometimes offered as supporting evidence for the Aquatic Ape Hypothesis (AAH/AAT) that the reason for the divergence between the hominids and their ape-like relatives was due to a long semi-aquatic phase of history. No other land mammal, including the apes, produces vernix-coated neonates; in contrast, some sea mammals, including the harbour seal, do ( [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/scarsofevolution.shtml Prog. 2 of BBC series on AAH/AAT] quoting Professor Don Bowen of Nova Scotia's Department of Fisheries and Oceans Marine Mammal Division).

External links

* [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=search&db=PubMed&term=Vernix+Caseosa PubMed articles on Vernix caseosa]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/scarsofevolution.shtml Scars of Evolution] (online series of two BBC radio programmes about AAH/AAT)
*http://www.babyzone.com/glossary/default.asp?termid=522 (Pregnancy Glossary)


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  • vérnix caseosa — vernix caseosa vernix caseosa f. obst. Sustancia serosa que recubre el feto. Durante la vida intrauterina impide que el líquido amniótico macere la epidermis fetal. Medical Dictionary. 2011. vérnix caseosa …   Diccionario médico

  • Vernix casēosa — (lat.), Kindsschleim, s. Kind, S. 3 …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • vernix caseosa — ● vernix caseosa nom masculin Substance d un blanc grisâtre, de consistance graisseuse, qui recouvre en couches plus ou moins épaisses la peau du nouveau né …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • VERNIX CASEOSA — VERNIX CASEOSA, сыровидная смазка, покрывает б. или м. обильно тело новорожденного, гл. обр., на спинке, разгибательных поверхностях и в складках (под мышками, в пахах). Недоноски покрыты ею более обильно, чем крупные дети, у к рых она нередко… …   Большая медицинская энциклопедия

  • Vernix caseosa — Neugeborenes mit Resten von Vernix caseosa Vernix caseosa (auch: Fruchtschmiere oder Käseschmiere) ist ein weißlicher Bezug auf der Haut, mit dem das Neugeborene auf die Welt kommt. Ihr Fehlen zum Zeitpunkt der Geburt weist auf eine Übertragung… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Vernix caseosa — A white cheesy substance that covers and protects the skin of the fetus and is still all over the skin of a baby at birth. Vernix caseosa is composed of sebum (the oil of the skin) and cells that have sloughed off the fetus skin. Vernix is the… …   Medical dictionary

  • Vernix caseosa — Le vernix caseosa est une substance cireuse d origine sébacée, blanchâtre et grasse recouvrant et protégeant la peau des nouveau nés. In utero, il protège la peau du fœtus du milieu aqueux, le liquide amniotique, qui l entoure. La peau des… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Vernix caseosa — varškinis tepalas statusas T sritis embriologija atitikmenys: lot. Vernix caseosa ryšiai: platesnis terminas – ektoderma …   Medicininės histologijos ir embriologijos vardynas

  • vernix caseosa — noun a white cheeselike protective material that covers the skin of a fetus • Syn: ↑vernix • Hypernyms: ↑material, ↑stuff * * * noun see vernix * * * /verr niks kay see oh seuh/, Med. the fatty matter, consisting chiefly of dead epidermal cells… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Vernix caseosa — Vẹrnix caseosa   [lateinisch], die Fruchtschmiere …   Universal-Lexikon

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