Joseph Merrick was originally thought to be suffering from elephantiasis. In 1971, Ashley Montagu suggested in his book The Elephant Man: A Study in Human Dignity that Merrick suffered from neurofibromatosis type I, a genetic disorder also known as von Recklinghausen's disease.
Layers of the Epidermis. The epidermis is divided into five layers. From outside to inside (dermis). Of note, Langerhans cells, which are specialized antigen-presenting cells are present in all layers of the epidermis but are mostly in the stratum spinosum.
In both, there is constant proliferation of cells in the bottom layer (stratum basale) which constantly move up to the top where they are lost. This means damaged cells are continually shed, and replaced with new cells. Find out more about the four different types of cell found in the epidermis.