>>technically the topmost two layers of the epithelial epidermal layer of human skin- and especially the stratum corneum- shed continually throughout the day amounting to around 700 pounds of shed cells in a lifetime, when viewed under a scanning electron microscope the keratin "horny layer" or outermost layer has a distinctly scale like appearance.<<
I should have distinguished more precisely that reptiles shed their skin all at once on a somewhat regular cycle, and if it breaks up in patches that is a bad sign; whereas humans shed skin cells continually in tiny amounts, and if they clump up into big pieces that is a bad sign. The problem Pythia has is caused by having two opposite methods conjunct in a way that makes neither of them work well.
>> this has me wondering what Pythia's human epithelial cells around the new snakeskin patches are doing, if the transitional area has developed a unique structure or if she's prone to an irritation inflammatory response or infection due to the disparate shedding cycles of mammalian and snake cells...something like a soup version of plaque psoriasis or eczema or contact dermatitis because her body is attempting to accommodate two different methods for the same goal. <<
It is exactly because her body is trying to accommodate two different methods that she has trouble. Irritation is also possible -- the human skin around the scales probably tends to be flakier than normal -- although she's not having a systemic immune response because the two blueprints really are part of her body. In essence it's working like a calico effect, where random patches have been flipped 'on' to display a different genetic code.
>> This also begs the question of whether the transitional area has normal epidermis which migrates under the scaled portions, if the two tissue areas are junctional or if the epidermis slightly overrides the scaled portion...because there could be other complications depending on whether or not it's a seamless transition...if she's got normal epidermis under the scales she might be prone to cyst development, or keratin pearls forming; if the scaled portion is under the epidermal or dermal layer she might get infections inflammation and pain much like what happens with ingrown nails; if its junctional she might be fine or she might develop skin fissures in certain areas especially if her human skin dries out... <<
It's not a crisp boundary, and that's part of the problem. Since the human mode is overriding the snake mode at the edges, I suspect there are some human epithelial cells creeping over the edge of the snake skin and causing it to stick.
Your reference to sunburn inspired me to look up the UV requirements of pythons. I found a general guide to the radiation requirements of reptiles and a reference to new research suggesting that ball pythons benefit from UVB lighting. If reptiles need sunlight, and if sunlight can trigger sheet shedding in human skin, then basking in the sun might be one way to improve the Pythia's overall dermal health. She has Mediterranean skin even if it's light in tone, so she's not going to burn easily, but it might help keep the skin from sticking so much. Also the Pythia has a tendency to kind of hide indoors, partly due to busyness and partly because like many soups with animal parts she has a hard time relating to ordinary people. It's all too easy to cause or worsen body problems and have no idea which lifestyle choice is doing that. But I bet her new herpetologist friend will think of these things presently.
>>sorry...geeking out over weird body systems stuff here, don't mind me!<<
:D I love this stuff too. I was diagramming centaur anatomy in junior high. Because it's cool, that's why.
I'm endlessly fascinated by the social and biological implications of superpowers, in ways that mainstream comics rarely if ever explore. I know enough biology to pick out some of the obvious challenges. Then if other folks ask insightful questions, I can usually examine the clues to figure out more details of what is happening and why. It makes for interesting stories.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancing_serpent
Re: on skin shedding
Date: 2016-05-21 07:03 pm (UTC)I should have distinguished more precisely that reptiles shed their skin all at once on a somewhat regular cycle, and if it breaks up in patches that is a bad sign; whereas humans shed skin cells continually in tiny amounts, and if they clump up into big pieces that is a bad sign. The problem Pythia has is caused by having two opposite methods conjunct in a way that makes neither of them work well.
>> this has me wondering what Pythia's human epithelial cells around the new snakeskin patches are doing, if the transitional area has developed a unique structure or if she's prone to an irritation inflammatory response or infection due to the disparate shedding cycles of mammalian and snake cells...something like a soup version of plaque psoriasis or eczema or contact dermatitis because her body is attempting to accommodate two different methods for the same goal. <<
It is exactly because her body is trying to accommodate two different methods that she has trouble. Irritation is also possible -- the human skin around the scales probably tends to be flakier than normal -- although she's not having a systemic immune response because the two blueprints really are part of her body. In essence it's working like a calico effect, where random patches have been flipped 'on' to display a different genetic code.
>> This also begs the question of whether the transitional area has normal epidermis which migrates under the scaled portions, if the two tissue areas are junctional or if the epidermis slightly overrides the scaled portion...because there could be other complications depending on whether or not it's a seamless transition...if she's got normal epidermis under the scales she might be prone to cyst development, or keratin pearls forming; if the scaled portion is under the epidermal or dermal layer she might get infections inflammation and pain much like what happens with ingrown nails; if its junctional she might be fine or she might develop skin fissures in certain areas especially if her human skin dries out... <<
It's not a crisp boundary, and that's part of the problem. Since the human mode is overriding the snake mode at the edges, I suspect there are some human epithelial cells creeping over the edge of the snake skin and causing it to stick.
Your reference to sunburn inspired me to look up the UV requirements of pythons. I found a general guide to the radiation requirements of reptiles and a reference to new research suggesting that ball pythons benefit from UVB lighting. If reptiles need sunlight, and if sunlight can trigger sheet shedding in human skin, then basking in the sun might be one way to improve the Pythia's overall dermal health. She has Mediterranean skin even if it's light in tone, so she's not going to burn easily, but it might help keep the skin from sticking so much. Also the Pythia has a tendency to kind of hide indoors, partly due to busyness and partly because like many soups with animal parts she has a hard time relating to ordinary people. It's all too easy to cause or worsen body problems and have no idea which lifestyle choice is doing that. But I bet her new herpetologist friend will think of these things presently.
>>sorry...geeking out over weird body systems stuff here, don't mind me!<<
:D I love this stuff too. I was diagramming centaur anatomy in junior high. Because it's cool, that's why.
I'm endlessly fascinated by the social and biological implications of superpowers, in ways that mainstream comics rarely if ever explore. I know enough biology to pick out some of the obvious challenges. Then if other folks ask insightful questions, I can usually examine the clues to figure out more details of what is happening and why. It makes for interesting stories.