Background: The objective of the present study was the investigation of hair follicle morphology in eight mammalian species in order to evaluate the species-specific contribution of hair follicles to skin penetration particularly with regard to the utilization of the different animal species as skin models for human skin.
Methods: Cyanoacrylate skin surface biopsy method (CSSB), light microscopy and also digital photography were used for the measurements of hair follicle morphology.
Results: The results revealed species-specific differences regarding the pattern of hair follicle distribution and also differences with regard to hair follicle parameters and characteristics. The results also showed that hair follicles generally possess enormous reservoir capacities, regarding the follicular volume. In all examined species, hair follicles reached at least one-fifth of stratum corneum storage capacity. The results were compared with human data obtained in a previous study.
Conclusion: With regard to hair follicle morphology and skin structure, the porcine skin seems to be the most appropriate skin model for human skin analog to previous investigations, whereas the skin of dog, cat, and rabbit showed the most significant differences.
Keywords: cyanoacrylate skin surface biopsy; hair follicle morphology; human skin; mammalian skin.
© 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.