title: Surface ultrastructure of human dermis and wounds.
abstract: Scanning electron microscopic observations of the de-epidermalized surfaces of wounds and control skin reveal the architecture of dermal collagen. At wound edges there is a transition from the normal regular rete peg structure through erratically shaped finger-like projections with buds, to the relatively flat surface of granulation tissue. A corresponding change in the ultrastructure of dermal collagen is seen from normal areas where bundles of thick fibres are made up from finer fibrils, through a transitional zone where only fine fibrils are visible, to the granulation tissue where a disorganised amorphous structure is seen. It is suggested that the fibrous tissue surface at the edges of healing wounds is extensively remodelled after it is covered by epidermal cells.
authors.affiliation: Laing Laboratory for Burn Injury Investigation, Odstock Hospital, Salisbury.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Ray
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Shakespeare
mesh_terms: D001485:Basement Membrane / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003094:Collagen / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006097:Granulation Tissue / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006801:Humans; D007797:Laminin / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000473:pathology; D012867:Skin / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D014647:Varicose Ulcer / Q000473:pathology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D007797:Laminin; D003094:Collagen