GENERAL HISTOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -A good analogy for the struc-ture of a hair shaft is the structure of a pencil (Figure 3-3). The painted yellow exterior of the pencil is similar to the cuticle. The graphite in the middle of the pencil is similar to the medulla. The wood of the pencil is analogous to the cortex of a hair.

Detailed explanation-2: -Using a wooden pencil as an analogy, we can think of the cuticle as the paint on the outside of the pencil, the cortex as the wooden portion of the pencil, and the medulla as the graphite. The cuticle is the outermost layer of the hair.

Detailed explanation-3: -Each hair shaft is made up of two or three layers: the cuticle, the cortex, and sometimes the medulla. The cuticle is the outermost layer. Made of flattened cells that overlap like the tiles on a terra-cotta roof, the cuticle protects the inside of the hair shaft from damage.