the dermis
The dermis is the inner layer of skin. It is made of tough connective tissue. The dermis is attached to the epidermis by fibers made of the protein collagen. The dermis is where most skin structures are located. Look again at Figure above . Youll see that the dermis has blood vessels and nerve endings. The nerve endings explain why skin can sense pain, pressure, and temperature. If you cut your skin and it bleeds, the cut has penetrated the dermis and damaged a blood vessel. The cut probably hurts as well because of the nerve endings in this skin layer.