The thickness of the epidermis

Abstract

Epidermal thickness has been accurately measured on 214 samples of skin from 188 volunteers. Variations with the individual, body site, sex and age are described and discussed. An original technique of measurement has been developed which has several advantages over conventional methods. In particular, quick straight‐forward measurements are possible on volunteer skin rather than post mortem material, and the method eliminates errors arising from the skin's elasticity. These improvements in accuracy have confirmed that much information in the literature on epidermal thickness, is misleading as the results are based on inaccurate techniques of measurement.