Elastic fibre arrangement in the skin of the pig.

After the removal of collagen and ground substance by autoclaving tissue samples and subsequently applying the SEM technique, a dense meshwork of elastic fibres could be demonstrated in the dermis of the pig (wild boar, domestic pig, miniature pig). The abdominal body region showed relatively large amounts of elastic fibres compared to the back and the lateral body wall. In comparison with the papillary layer and the mid-dermis, thicker elastic fibres predominated in the deeper dermis; thinner fibres were attaching to the epidermis and the pilosebaceous units. The results are discussed in relation to corresponding investigations on the human dermis.