So here we have an example problem that asks which of the following may occur in someone who does not have dermal papillae? And we've got these 4 potential answer options down below. Now, recall that dermal papillae are these folded projections found in the papillary layer or the most superficial layer of the dermis. And they actually create folds in the epidermis as well called epidermal ridges. And together these dermal papilla and epidermal ridges form friction ridges on the surface that are directly associated with our fingerprints.

And so without the dermal papilla, we would not be able to have fingerprints. And so notice answer option A says they would no longer have a fingerprint. And that is the correct answer to this example problem. So, we can indicate that A here is correct. Now, notice that option B says their skin would take longer to heal after getting cut.

Now, dermal papillae do have blood vessels, and so those blood vessels can help nourish the epidermal cells. However, the dermal papillae are not directly linked to the rate of healing. There are many different factors that come into the healing process. And so, option B is not the best answer option. Now, option C says their skin wouldn't be able to thermoregulate.

Now, again, dermal papilla do have blood vessels that can undergo vasoconstriction and vasodilation for thermoregulation. However, thermoregulation of the skin is not unique to the dermopapilla because the particular layer of the dermis that lies underneath also has blood vessels that can undergo vasoconstriction and vasodilation and help to thermoregulate the skin. So, for that reason, option C is not the best answer. And then option D says they would be more likely to get skin cancer. But again, the derma papillae are not directly involved with preventing skin cancer.

They do not prevent UV light from the sun from hitting those epidermal cells, and so they don't protect those cells from cancer and they don't prevent cancer. And so for that reason, we can eliminate option D. So again, A here is the correct answer to this example, and I'll see you all in our next video.