Background: During the sexual maturation, gluteal femoral adipose tissue is subjected to numerous modifications, not observable in other regions, in particular in women and less in men. Other authors described this region, but they used imaging techniques having lower resolution, than MRI proposed in this study. High resolution imaging techniques might provide important and more detailed information about the anatomy of gluteal femoral region.
Methods: This study has been performed using 7 T-magnetic resonance imaging and ultrastructural analysis in order to provide accurate description of the subcutaneous adipose tissue and dermis of gluteal femoral region. In this study specimens harvested from cadavers and form living patients have been analyzed.
Results: The results showed the presence of three layers: superficial, middle, and deep, characterized by different organization of fat lobules. High resolution imaging showed the adipose papilla that originates from dermis and protrude in subcutaneous adipose tissue. Adipose papilla is characterized by a peculiar morphology with a basement, a neck and a head and these elements represent the functional subunits of adipose papilla. Moreover, ultrastructural study evidenced the relationship between adipocytes and sweat glands, regulated by lipid vesicles.
Conclusions: This study provides important information about subcutaneous and dermal fat anatomy of gluteal femoral region, improving the past knowledge, and move toward a better understanding of the cellulite physiopathology.
Keywords: 7 T‐magnetic resonance imaging; adipose papilla; collagen septa; fat layers; fat lobules.
© 2024 The Authors. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.