The skin is the body’s largest organ, comprising around 16% of a person’s total body weight.1 Its complex structure and range of functions reflect its embryological origin from both ectoderm and mesoderm germ cell layers.2 Its functions are broad, performing a vital role in thermoregulation and water homeostasis, and providing a barrier from harmful agents such as UV rays, pathogens and mechanical trauma, as well as being a key endocrinological organ in vitamin D production.2 Skin also plays an integral role in our everyday psychosocial wellbeing and how we interact with one another, offering information on heritage, age and general health.2
As the skin provides the canvas for almost all aesthetic medicine, a working knowledge of its function and anatomy is essential for clinicians to provide safe treatments, as well as knowing how to optimise results. This article will therefore cover…
