Karger Publishers, Dermatology, 2(223), p. 131-139, 2011
DOI: 10.1159/000330737
Full text: Unavailable
Quantitative morphological studies of the healthy epidermis are essential in providing a range of parameter estimates that can be considered within the range of normality. Stereology is a set of statistical tools that provides potentially unbiased and precise estimates of 3-dimensional tissue characteristics from 2-dimensional sections. We set out to establish reference values for the volume of the viable epidermis contained within a four-millimetre punch biopsy (V<sub>epi</sub>), the volume of the stratum corneum (V<sub>SC</sub>) and the surface area of the dermo-epidermal junction(A<sub>DEJ</sub>) in 4 predetermined body regions by use of stereology. Four-millimetre punch biopsies were taken from 20 freshly diseased corpses, fixed in formalin and embedded in paraffin. V<sub>epi</sub>, V<sub>SC</sub> and A<sub>DEJ</sub> were established stereologically for all 4 body locations followed by pairwise comparison of means after Bonferroni correction. V<sub>epi</sub> was significantly larger in the sole compared to all other body locations (p < 0.01). Furthermore, linear regression analysis showed a strong linear relationship between V<sub>epi</sub> and V<sub>SC</sub> in the sole (r = 0.70). Our results suggest that the viable layers of the epidermis might also serve a mechanical function, either directly or by providing the stratum corneum with keratinocytes to support the hyperkeratosis in the weight-bearing parts of the skin.