Structural changes in aging human skin

Abstract

In both exposed and protected areas of progressively older people the underside of the epidermis becomes increasingly flattened out. This flattening is accompanied by a comparable rarefaction of the superficial blood vessels. In this article we review the architecture of the elastic fiber framework in the papillary dermis of skin protected from the sun; aging changes that occur are similar to, but less severe than, those in sun-exposed areas. Most cutaneous sensory end organs are little affected by aging; those in the external genitalia, however, and particularly those underneath the vaginal epithelium become smaller and some disappear.