VISCOUS FLOW IN COMPRESSED HUMAN AND RAT SKIN

[摘要] A force of 100-2000 gm acting over 0.1-5 cm2 for up to 20 min. was used to compress rat or human skin. The maximum compression produced was 0.3 mm in rat skin and 0.6 mm in human skin. Histology showed that most of the compression was in the dermis. The time-course of the compression was not exponential; there was a long-continued tail of deformation. The compression remained after the force was removed. The speed of compression was increased by increase in the force, decrease in the contact area, or the prior action of hyaluronidase on the dermis. A theory of viscous flow in the dermis is suggested to account for the results.