Analysis of the morphometric parameters of pig ear hair follicles.

BACKGROUND Porcine ear skin is used in studies of percutaneous penetration as a substitute for human skin. The objective of the present study was to determine the structure of the hair follicles on the dorsal area of porcine ear skin and make a morphometric comparison with the hair follicles of human skin. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sections of frozen biopsies were cut vertically to the skin surface in longitudinal sections using a cryotome and were investigated using microscopy. For each hair follicle, various parameters were determined. RESULTS The follicular density in porcine ear skin varies according to the area studied, and the length of most of the follicles was approximately 1458 ± 286 μm. The size of the follicular orifice was also determined in a total of 305 follicles. It showed a diameter of roughly 113 ± 43 μm. CONCLUSION The results showed a very good similarity between human and pig hair follicles. Therefore, porcine ear skin can be considered as a very suitable model of human skin in dermal and especially follicular penetration studies.