Multiphoton microscopic imaging of rabbit dorsal skin

Abstract

Rabbits are often preferred to be experimental animals during the skin research. The visualizing and understanding the full-thickness structure of rabbit skin has significance in biology, medicine, and animal husbandry. In this study, multiphoton microscopy (MPM) was employed to examine the rabbit skin on the back, which was based on second harmonic generation and two-photon excited fluorescence. High-resolution images were achieved from the fresh, unfixed, and unstained tissues, showing detailed microstructure of the skin without the administration of exogenous contrast agents. The morphology and distribution of the main components of epidermis and dermis, such as keratin, collagen fibers, elastic fibers, and hair follicles, can be distinctly identified in MPM images. Since the changes in these components are tightly related to skin diseases and wound healing, the noninvasive nature of MPM enables it become a valuable tool in skin research for detecting and monitoring.

The suitability of using broiler rabbit leathers in gloves and footwear manufacturing

“…Knowledge of the structure of skin tissue, in particular the collagen fibre system, allows us to determine the destination of a given batch of leather due to tanning requirements and is an important criterion for the use of proper technological treatment. In the study of the detailed microstructure of hides, including rabbits, modern imaging techniques such as multiphoton microscopy (MPM) are increasingly being used to generate second harmonic and two-photon excited fluorescence (Zhu et al, 2015). The thickness of the skin tissue, and thus the mass of raw skin, is affected by the thickness of the dermis and the thickness of the subcutaneous layer, and in it the content of muscle fibres and fat cells (Zapletal, 2000).…”