A drug that is applied to the skin and exerts its therapeutic effect systemically is said to be administered:

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: Transdermal administration involves applying a drug (e.g., via a patch) to the skin for systemic absorption into the bloodstream, affecting the whole body, like fentanyl patches. Topical administration targets local skin effects, like antibiotic creams. Intradermal injections deliver into the dermis, not surface application. Subcutaneous administration goes beneath the skin via injection. 'Trans' (across) indicates crossing the skin barrier for systemic action, a method reliant on the skin's permeability, making this the correct term.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The integument includes the epidermis and dermis. The correct order is epidermis (outermost), then the dermis's papillary layer (superficial), followed by the reticular layer (deeper). Hypodermis isn't part of the integument. Listing dermis before epidermal layers reverses the order, and grouping corneum and germinativum within epidermis ignores the dermis's structure. The sequence epidermis, papillary, reticular accurately reflects the skin's layered anatomy from surface to depth.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The epidermis is the outermost skin layer, encompassing sublayers like the stratum corneum, serving as the body's primary barrier. The dermis lies beneath it, supporting with connective tissue and glands. The stratum lucidum is an epidermal sublayer below the corneum in thick skin. The reticular dermal layer is deep in the dermis. As the topmost structure, the epidermis literally 'over the dermis' is the correct outermost layer, per standard skin anatomy.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: Skin waterproofs via the stratum corneum, produces vitamin D with UV exposure, and aids immunity via Langerhans cells, but fat storage occurs in the hypodermis (subcutaneous layer), not the integument (epidermis and dermis). The hypodermis's role in energy storage is distinct from skin functions, which focus on protection, synthesis, and sensation. Fat storage's exclusion from the integument proper, per anatomical definition, makes this the non-function.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: Merkel discs (touch), nociceptors (pain), and Pacinian corpuscles (pressure) are sensory receptors in the skin, detecting environmental stimuli. The reticular dermal layer, the deeper dermis part, is connective tissue with collagen and elastin, not a receptor. It supports receptors but doesn't sense, distinguishing it from the others, which are specialized nerve endings or structures, making it the non-receptor.