LANUGO

'Lanugo' refers to hair that grows on the body, in an attempt to insulate the skin because of lack of fat. It is a type of pelage. Lanugo is very fine, and grows on the body in places where hair does not grow, like the abdomen, back and chest.
Lanugo occurs on fetuses as a normal part of gestation. Lanugo hair is usually shed and replaced by vellus hair at ~40 weeks of gestational age. As the lanugo is shed from the skin, it is normal for the developing fetus to consume the hair with the fluid, since it drinks from the amniotic fluid and urinates it back into its environment. Subsequently, the lanugo contributes to the newborn baby's meconium.
The presence of lanugo in newborns is a sign of premature birth. This is also common on animals, as a protection due to climate changes.
Lanugo is also a common symptom of serious anorexia nervosa, as the body's attempts to insulate itself as body fat is lost.^[1]

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References

1. Mori J. Krantz & Philip S. Mehler. Resting tachycardia, a warning sign in anorexia nervosa: case report. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, 2004 4:10.

External links

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