Function
Vernix is theorized to serve several purposes, including moisturizing the infant's skin, and facilitating passage through the birth canal. It serves to conserve heat and protect the delicate newborn skin from environmental stress. Vernix is also thought to have an antibacterial effect; though there is little evidence to support a chemical role of vernix in protecting the infant from infection, it may form a physical barrier to the passage of bacteria.
Read more about this topic: Vernix Caseosa
Famous quotes containing the word function:
“The function of the actor is to make the audience imagine for the moment that real things are happening to real people.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“Uses are always much broader than functions, and usually far less contentious. The word function carries overtones of purpose and propriety, of concern with why something was developed rather than with how it has actually been found useful. The function of automobiles is to transport people and objects, but they are used for a variety of other purposes—as homes, offices, bedrooms, henhouses, jetties, breakwaters, even offensive weapons.”
—Frank Smith (b. 1928)