Dimpling of the skin of the buttocks and thighs, especially in women, is known as cellulite. Many people have heard stories about the existence of two types of fat - brown and white - in which the brown is the type in cellulite, but medical studies have failed to confirm that there are any different types of adipose tissue. One study, Rosenbaum M, Prieto V, Hellmer J, Boschmann M, Krueger J, Leibel RL, Ship AG :An exploratory investigation of the morphology and biochemistry of cellulite. Plast Reconstr Surg 1998 Jun;101(7):1934-9 looked at both the anatomical structure of cellulite as well as its physiologic function.
Ultrasound examination of the thigh showed a diffuse pattern of extrusion of underlying fat (adipose) tissue into the reticular dermis in individuals with cellulite, but not not in unaffected, individuals. Studies also demonstrated that women had a generalized pattern of irregular and discontinuous connective tissue immediately below the skin (dermis), but this same layer of connective tissue was smooth and continuous in men. They also found no significant differences in they way the fat tissue looked under the microscope, how it responded to fat deposition and resorption, or even regional blood flow between affected and unaffected sites within individuals. They did find there were structural characteristics of connective tissue below the skin that predispose women to develop the irregular extrusion of adipose tissue into the dermis, which characterizes cellulite. In other words, cellulite represents areas of a "break in the fence" where fat cells come into the skin area and the dimpling represents where the support structure of the skin (the original "fence") is still intact.
Ultrasound examination of the thigh showed a diffuse pattern of extrusion of underlying fat (adipose) tissue into the reticular dermis in individuals with cellulite, but not not in unaffected, individuals. Studies also demonstrated that women had a generalized pattern of irregular and discontinuous connective tissue immediately below the skin (dermis), but this same layer of connective tissue was smooth and continuous in men. They also found no significant differences in they way the fat tissue looked under the microscope, how it responded to fat deposition and resorption, or even regional blood flow between affected and unaffected sites within individuals. They did find there were structural characteristics of connective tissue below the skin that predispose women to develop the irregular extrusion of adipose tissue into the dermis, which characterizes cellulite. In other words, cellulite represents areas of a "break in the fence" where fat cells come into the skin area and the dimpling represents where the support structure of the skin (the original "fence") is still intact.
No comments:
Post a Comment