1. Introduction

The hair follicle is one of the characteristic features of mammals serves as a unique miniorgan (Figure 1). In humans, hair has various functions such as protection against external factors, sebum, apocrine sweat and pheromones production and thermoregulation. The hair also plays important roles for the individual's social and sexual interaction [1, 2].

The hair follicle serves as a reservoir for epithelial and melanocyte stem cells and it is capable of being one of the few immune privileged sites of human body. Hair follicle development is related to the interactions between epithelial and mesenchymal cells. Many genes play substantial role in this interaction and also in hair follicle cycling [3–5].

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Figure 1. Diagram of an anagen follicle.

The aim of this chapter is to enhance the knowledge of the complex anatomy and physiology of the hair in a simple manner (Table 1) [2, 5].



Table 1. Glossary of terms for hair anatomy and physiology.
