Comparative morphometric analysis of vermilion border epithelium and lip epidermis.

A comparative morphometric study of lip epithelia in cattle, rats, and humans was undertaken using stereological techniques. Vermilion border and skin specimens of cattle, rats and humans were processed under standardized conditions for light microscopic observation. Stereological techniques were employed to obtain volumetric densities of each epithelial layer. The results obtained show that although the absolute volume of each epithelial stratum of the vermilion border and of the skin varies markedly in the different species studied, the relative volume of these strata in relation to the entire epithelium is similar in all epithelia.