ABSTRACT
A wide variety of imaging techniques has been developed to study the properties of the human skin. Many of these techniques are described in detail in section ‘‘Confocal Scanning Laser Microscopy.’’ A general characteristic of these imaging techniques is that they uncover the skin morphology. Variations in the physical properties of the tissue are detected and visualized as contrast in an image, revealing skin texture, layers, structures such as sweat ducts and hair follicles. At a higher magnification, cells and subcellular structures become visible. Spectroscopic techniques provide a window to the molecular properties of tissue. Rather than showing skin morphology, spectroscopic techniques reveal molecular composition, structure, and interactions within the tissue. The two modalities, skin imaging and skin spectroscopy, make a powerful combination. Together, they enable qualitative and quantitative assessment of molecular properties of various skin layers and structures, and add a morphological context to the molecular properties of the skin.
