Surfometry. A method of evaluating the internal structure of the stratum corneum.

A method is described which enables measurement to be made of the roughness of the surfact of skin surface biopsies. The instrument used in this investigation has previously been employed to measure the degree of unevenness of metal and ceramic surfaces and is called a 'surfometer'. Using this technique the tracings that resulted from examination of normal skin, psoriasis and certain ichthyotic states could easily be distinguished. It was also demonstrated that there was a consistent pattern of change with increasing hydration of the stratum corneum in the absence of easily identifiable morphological alterations.