In vitro investigation of skin damage due to microscale shearing.

Despite several studies dealing with the mechanical and tribological properties of skin, the majority of these investigations have been performed at macroscopic levels. However, because of the multilayer structure of skin, it is necessary to perform studies at microscopic scales to reveal the effect of individual layer constituents on the overall skin response to mechanical stimuli. To bridge the gap in knowledge of the micromechanical behavior of skin, a custom-made mechanical tester, optical microscopy, and cross-sectional histology were used to examine the deformation and tribological behavior of porcine skin subjected to various normal and shear loadings.