ABSTRACT

The definition of neo-natal has less to do with size, weight, or age and more to do with being born. The advent of the ‘‘test tube’’ baby and the survival of increasingly premature infants have added emphasis to some developmental events that previously occurred only in utero. This chapter on the development and maturation in the neonate of the cutaneous vasculature of the skin, therefore, addresses the period throughout gestation and subsequent newborn adaptation. It embraces the subcutaneous adipose tissue as well as the dermis, the lymphatic system as well as the blood vascular system.