Mechanical properties of skin: a bioengineering study of skin structure.

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Abstract
An extensometer for testing skin has been constructed, utilizing a constant rate of extension system. The extension of skin fell into 2 main sections, each characterized by empirical equations, and a 3rd phase demonstrating yielding. The 1st stage was thought to be due to the orientating and straightening of collagen fibers. The 2d stage of extension was considered to be due to the extending of orientated collagen fibers and was similar to the results obtained with collagen from rat tail tendons. It was characterized by the equation: E = c + kLb, where E = extension, and L = load, and c, k, and b = constants. The significance of the constants in this equation was determined mathematically and it was shown that b reflected a specific property of the collagen fibers. This was shown theoretically and experimentally to be independent of the size of the specimen or the direction from which it was cut. The constant k was shown to represent the conditions of the fiber meshwork and was governed by the length and area of the fibers. The validity of this system was verified by using specimens cut along and across Langer''s lines and by varying the width of the specimens. The constant b was maximum at about 40 years of age. Collagen from female skin was more extensible than male, and the increase of stiffness with age was not so rapid in the forearm as in the abdomen.

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