157k views
5 votes
A person with dark colored skin has more: (melanocytes, melanin, or both melanocytes and melanin)?

User Junny
by
8.5k points

1 Answer

2 votes

Final answer:

Individuals with dark-colored skin produce more melanin. They do not necessarily have more melanocytes, but their melanocytes are more active in melanin production.

Step-by-step explanation:

A person with dark-colored skin has more melanin than someone with pale skin. This does not necessarily mean they have more melanocytes, which are the cells that produce melanin, but the melanocytes in dark-skinned individuals produce a greater amount of melanin. Both melanocytes and keratinocytes play roles in skin pigmentation, with melanocytes producing melanin and then transferring it to keratinocytes in the epidermis where it absorbs and protects against UV light.

User Morganney
by
8.3k points