Great Photograph of Dermis and Epidermis from Wikipedia

I have been looking for a while for decient photographs of the top section of the skin.   It is something I often want to use to illustrate a point.  I am pretty sure I looked at Wikipedia ages ago, but I have just come across this stunning photo.  And best of all, it is in the public domain so I can use it freely with a clear conscience, as indeed can you if you so desire. (The original Wikipedia article has it at a higher resolution, so get if from there if you have any serious use for it. Original Reference)  Thanks to Kilbad for sharing it and congratulations on a superb bit of histology.

Epidermis and Dermis
Epidermis and Dermis

You can see very clearly the top layer of the skin, the stratum corneum, the epidermis populated with corneocytes sitting on top of the dermis. This is the thing that above all others keeps your insides in.

Labelled version
Labelled version




2 thoughts on “Great Photograph of Dermis and Epidermis from Wikipedia”

  1. The lower slide is incorrectly labeled. The area where “dermis” is situated is actually the lower layers of the epidermis. The dermis is beneath this layer. It is the connective tissue that is pinkish and swirly looking. Between these two tissue types (epidermis = epithelium above, dense = dense irregular connective below) is the basement membrane, but you cannot readily distinguish it on those photos.

  2. I see what Peri is saying and he is right, though it is a bit unclear. My annotated version has been picked up and used by medical students though, so my error is not an obvious one. Thanks Peri for the correction.

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