Comprehensive Study of the Structural Components of the Skin: From Routine Methods to Modern Microscopy Methods

Abstract

Background: Modern methods of microscopy expand our capabilities to detail objects and move to the study of native tissue. The varieties of laser microscopy, which are becoming more and more popular, have broad prospects in the study of morphological properties, combining high resolution and minimal exposure to aggressive media during sample preparation. However, in the scientific literature, the aspects of the structure of individual structural components of the skin or morphofunctional changes in various pathological conditions are not well covered. In this regard, the purpose of our study was a multilevel analysis of structural components using both classical and modern morphological methods. Methods and Results: The material for this study was skin fragments obtained from laboratory male Wistar rats. The study of the structural components was carried out by the methods of light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and laser scanning microscopy. The results of our study indicate that the most effective way to obtain complete information is an integrated approach to the study of tissue morphology, where the researcher requires deep knowledge and the use of not only modern methods, but also the possibility of combining them with existing classical methods.

Keywords

• skin
• light microscopy
• scanning electron microscopy
• laser scanning microscopy