Vernix caseosa
Encyclopedia : V : VE : VER : Vernix caseosa
- For the town in France, see Vernix, Manche.
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. The word "smegma" is occasionally used to describe vernix.
Vernix is composed of sebum (the oil of the skin) and cells that have sloughed off the fetus' skin.
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 none of the apes, produces vernix-coated neonates; in contrast, some sea mammals, including the harbour seal, do ([Prog. 2 of BBC series on AAH/AAT]).
External links
- [PubMed articles on Vernix caseosa]
- [Scars of Evolution] (online series of two BBC radio programmes about AAH/AAT)
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