Abstract
The body is enveloped m skin in immediate contact with the external environment. But the developmental changes in the mass of this covering and of the te!a subcutanea immediately under it have received little study.
Bischoff 1 presented a carefully prepared study of the weights of the skin, fat, and various parts of the body of a premature and 2 full-term infants, an adolescent child, and 2 adults. Various later authors (Bruel, Dursy, Volkmann and Wacherman, quoted from Welcker and Brandt, 2 von Liebig, 3 Vierordt, 4 Jackson. 5 and Roe 6 ) have studied various parts of the body, including quantitative skin changes.
The total weight of the skin and the tela subcutanea at 5 lunar months, at birth, and in maturity (in males, females, and both sexes) has been collated from these data. The mean skin weight and tela subcutanea weight per square centimeter were calculated by the surface formulae of Scammon and Klein 7 and of Boyd, 8 and the body length-body weight formulae of Scammon and Calkins. 9 These data are shown in Table I. They are illustrated in histographic form in Figs. 1, 2, and 3.
Between 5 and 10 lunar months there is a very striking change. The skin increases about 17.5 times in absolute weight, while the tela subcutanea increases about 196 times. But the surface area of the body increases to such a degree during this time interval that the tela subcutanea increases but a little less than 35 times in terms of grams per square centimeter of surface.
In the adult, when both sexes are considered, it is found that the ratio of skin and tela subcutanea per square centimeter of surface is almost identical with that at birth.
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